SCOTLAND

Departmental Taxis

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many miles  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in his Department have travelled by taxi in the course of their official duties in each year since 1997; and at what cost to the public purse in each such year.

Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office does not record the number of miles travelled by taxi by Ministers or officials in the course of their official duties. The costs of taxi journeys since the Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
			   Ministers  Officials 
			 1999-2000 366 8,153 
			 2000-01 733 14,887 
			 2001-02 0 7,431 
			 2002-03 244 8,659 
			 2003-04 147 8,172 
			 2004-05 0 7,821 
			 2005-06 0 8,291 
			 2006-07 0 7,595 
			 2007-08 1,075 7,278 
			 2008-09 1,103 9,265

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Electoral Commission: Leave

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, for how many days each year the Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission is released or is entitled to take leave for service on the board of the Basildon and Thurrock Hospital Foundation Trust; and if he will make a statement.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the chief executive is allowed up to five days paid leave a year for service as a non-executive director of the trust, provided that there is no adverse impact on the performance of his duties at the commission. The chief executive does not receive payment from the trust for his services.

Electoral Commission: Pay

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the salary or salary band of the Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission is.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that in 2009-10 the salary of the chief executive of the Electoral Commission is £121,800.

WALES

Welsh Language

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish before 9 December 2009 all correspondence his Department has received on the Welsh Language Legislative Competence Order other than from Welsh Assembly Government Ministers and officials.

Peter Hain: The correspondence the Wales Office has received falls into two broad categories-first, the responses received to my predecessor's call for views on the proposed legislative competence order. Those responses which could be made public were sent to the Welsh Affairs Committee and the First Minister and were copied to the National Assembly for Wales Committee that scrutinised the LCO, on 14 May 2009, and I will place copies of that correspondence in the Library of the House.
	The second category is correspondence received either before or after the call for views. This includes:
	some 300 e-mails from members of the public seeking a swift publication of the Welsh Affairs Committee report. The vast majority of these were a standard text;
	correspondence from members of the public and Welsh language bodies. This totals some 37 letters and e-mails;
	some eight items of correspondence from parliamentary committees or committees of the National Assembly for Wales, or from individual members of those committees; and
	some 10 letters from businesses or their representative bodies.
	We have not sought the permission of these respondents to publish their correspondence, and to do so would incur disproportionate cost. Releasing correspondence from businesses and their representative bodies would also prejudice commercial interests.

PRIME MINISTER

Official Engagements

Keith Simpson: To ask the Prime Minister when he last met the Chief of the Defence Staff accompanied by the Chief of the Naval Staff, Chief of the General Staff and Chief of the Air Staff.

Gordon Brown: I have regular meetings and discussions with ministerial colleagues and others including the Chief of the Defence Staff, Chief of the Naval Staff, Chief of the General Staff and Chief of the Air Staff.

Scientists

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Prime Minister on how many occasions he has met the Government Chief Scientific Adviser in the course of his official duties in the last 12 months.

Gordon Brown: I have regular meetings with ministerial colleagues, officials and others.

CABINET OFFICE

Departmental Consultants

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many external consultants work for  (a) the Cabinet Office and  (b) the Prime Minister's Office.

Dawn Butler: The Prime Minister's Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office and therefore the answer provided is for the whole of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested for the Cabinet Office is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

KBR

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether her Department has entered into any contracts with Kellogg, Brown and Root or its subsidiaries since January 2009.

Dawn Butler: The Cabinet Office has not entered into any contracts with Kellogg, Brown and Root or its subsidiaries since January 2009.

Political Honours Scrutiny Committee

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  whether any records held by the Political Honours Scrutiny Committee relating to individuals nominated for a peerage have been destroyed;
	(2)  where the records and documents of the Political Honours Scrutiny Committee are held.

Dawn Butler: No records of the Political Honours Scrutiny Committee have been destroyed although criteria for selecting those for preservation at the National Archives (TNA) are presently being considered. Any records over 30 years old that are not selected for transfer to TNA will be destroyed.
	Records of the Political Honours Scrutiny Committee are held by the Cabinet Office.

Refuges: Enfield

David Burrowes: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much funding has been provided for women's refuges and rape crisis centres in Enfield in the latest period for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs. May) on 1 April 2009,  Official Report, column 1236W, for detail of individual awards from the Victims Fund and the Government Equalities Office Special Fund 2008-09. Details of the awards made in 2009-10 will be placed in the Commons Library.
	The Supporting People programme provides the main source of public funding for housing-related support services in England. This programme is delivered at a local level. The 2008-09 national allocations for Supporting People amount to £1.686 billion.
	The most recently available spend data on Supporting People is for 2007-08. Details of this data will be placed in the Commons Library. It shows that Enfield reported an annual spend of £397,817 on housing-related support services with a primary client group of women at risk of domestic violence.
	The Government have invested around £11 million over the last five years in specialist services for victims of sexual violence; this is in addition to funding provided locally. Most of this funding has come from the Victims Fund. We do not have a breakdown by local authority area of funding to rape crisis centres.
	The Government do not collect information centrally on what services are available for victims of rape and sexual abuse or domestic violence. Information is held on the following central Government funding:
	organisations which have received awards from the Government Equalities Office Special Funds in 2008-09 and 2009-10;
	organisations which have received awards from the Victims Fund in the last three financial years (2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10);
	total Supporting People spend by Administering Authority per Client Group (£), per financial year.
	The provision of services to victims of these terrible crimes is an issue for local authorities; decision makers in these authorities are best placed to assess the needs of their area. The majority of services are delivered through local providers who are supported and funded by local bodies, such as councils and health organisations.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Subsidies

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average level of fine charged was for late payments in respect of the 2005 Single Payment Scheme; and what estimate he has made of the outstanding amount due relating to payments under the  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006 schemes.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Financial penalties are applied by the European Commission if member states fail to make 96.154 per cent. of payments, by value, under the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) by 30 June of the year following each scheme year. To date, such penalties, totalling some £64 million, have only been applied to the UK in respect of the 2005 SPS.
	The SPS payments still due are estimated at £9,628 for the 2005 SPS scheme year and £6,440 for the 2006 scheme year. Most of the nine outstanding claims are cases where probate issues still need to be resolved. Some additional sums may become due as a result of changes to claim values following, for example, appeals by farmers.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many claims of under  (a) £300 and  (b) £500 have been made under the Single Payment Scheme in 2009.

Jim Fitzpatrick: In England, for the 2009 Single Payment Scheme, the Rural Payments Agency received 3,748 claims for less than £300 and 4,223 claims for between £300 and £499.99. These reflect the value claimed; the value paid may differ.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average time taken to process a claim made under the Single Payment Scheme was in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Based on the information contained within the NAO Value for Money Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, HC 880 Session 2008-09, published on 15 October 2009 and titled "A Second Progress Update on the Administration of the Single Payment Scheme by the Rural Payments Agency", the average staff time taken to process single payment scheme (SPS) claims in England for each year is set out as follows:
	
		
			   SPS scheme year 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Number of claimants 116,474 109,100 106,700 106,500 
			 Number of staff 3,077 2,993 2,879 2,527 
			 Average time per claim (hours) 43.00 44.66 43.93 38.62 
		
	
	The number of staff shown includes staff employed in shared service and corporate service roles, indirectly supporting processing, as well as those employed directly in processing.
	Figures are not yet available for processing 2009 scheme claims.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cheques under the Single Payment Scheme have been issued by the Rural Payments Agency for less than  (a) £60,  (b) £40,  (c) £20,  (d) £10 and  (e) £1 in each year since 2001.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The number of Single Payment Scheme (SPS) cheque payments issued by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) for the bands and scheme years specified in the question are as follows:
	
		
			  Number of payments 
			  Band  SPS 2005  SPS 2006  SPS 2007  SPS 2008( 1) 
			 £40.01 to £60.00 4,356 2,417 807 299 
			 £20.01 to £40.00 4,920 1,861 492 122 
			 £10.01 to £20.00 1,812 546 69 14 
			 £1.01 to £10.00 639 80 14 3 
			 £0.01 to £1.00 58 2 6 3 
			 (1) A change in EU regulations meant that the RPA stopped making payments by cheque on 15 October 2008. All payments are now made via BACS. 
		
	
	Payments for the 2009 SPS scheme year only began on 1 December so we cannot provide equivalent figures at this stage.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the accuracy of the digitalised farm maps used by the Rural Payments Agency for the purpose of making payments under the Single Payment Scheme.

Jim Fitzpatrick: For Single Payment Scheme claims up to and including the 2009 scheme year, the Rural Payments Agency has been using existing Ordnance Survey base-data information on Rural Land Register (RLR) maps.
	The mapping update currently in progress uses the most recent Ordnance Survey data available in conjunction with aerial photography to update the RLR maps. This includes improving the positional accuracy of our map data and reflecting any real world change recorded by Ordnance Survey.

Agriculture: Wales

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with  (a) the Welsh Assembly Government and  (b) the European Commission on the transitional arrangements for the agri-environment scheme in Glastir up to 2012; and what assessment he has made of that scheme's compliance with the rules stipulated by the Commission.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The transitional arrangements for agri-environment schemes prior to the introduction of Glastir will be funded under the Rural Development Plan (RDP) for Wales 2007-13. The RDP for Wales is the responsibility of the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG). Therefore, there has been no need to discuss these arrangements with either WAG or the European Commission, nor has it been necessary to make an assessment of the scheme's compliance with European Commission rules.

Animal Welfare

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many reports of abandoned animals his Department  (a) has received in each of the last five years and  (b) estimates it will receive in 2009.

Jim Fitzpatrick: None. DEFRA does not receive formal reports about the numbers of abandoned animals.

Animal Welfare: Circuses

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the merits of banning the use of wild animals in circuses; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: During the passage of the Animal Welfare Bill through Parliament a Circus Working Group was established consisting of representatives of welfare organisations and the circus industry, together with an academic panel from the scientific community. The group was charged with examining the issues relating to the transportation and housing needs of wild animals (i.e. animals not normally domesticated in the British Isles) used for performance in travelling circuses. The conclusions were that there was not enough evidence to show that the welfare of wild animals in circuses is any better or worse than those in other captive environments and that available scientific evidence was insufficient to justify regulations being introduced to ban wild animals being used in circus performance.
	In the light of these conclusions we commenced a feasibility study on the possibility of introducing regulations. The first element, a report and recommendations from two zoo inspectors who have undertaken visits to both travelling circuses and winter quarters, has now been completed. The findings of the first element have been discussed with representatives of welfare and industry organisations and we are aiming for completion by the end of the year.

Badgers

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his policy is on the relocation of badger setts resulting from the development of land for homes.

Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA is not responsible for the policy on determining licences for the purpose of development under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992; this falls to Natural England. However, DEFRA has an agreement with Natural England that it will consult DEFRA if a proposed licensed operation might pose a TB risk. Licences for development can only be issued for interference with badger setts; this is normally by closing down whole or part setts. The taking, and therefore translocation, of badgers, for the purpose of development is not allowed under the Act.

Bees: Imports

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many queen bees were imported in each of the last five years.

Dan Norris: Information on the number of queen bees imported into England from countries within and outside the European Community is available on the Food and Environment Research Agency's National Bee Unit's Beebase website.
	The information requested is set out in the table:
	
		
			   Number of queen bees imported 
			 2009 10,829 
			 2008 9,575 
			 2007 10,549 
			 2006 4,074 
			 2005 (1)2,256 
			 (1) Imports from outside the European Community only. More reliable data on imports from within the European Community became available from 2006.

Biodiversity

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of species which became extinct in England in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: We have not made an annual assessment of the total number of species that have become extinct in England in each of the last 10 years. In the 2008 UK Biodiversity Action Plan reporting round, seven priority species were reported as having been lost from England in the last 10 years. Natural England is currently carrying out a systematic review of species extinctions in England, which is due to be published in March 2010.

Biofuels

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will estimate the carbon savings resulting from the growing of biofuels on land which had previously been  (a) used to grow food crops and  (b) set aside or unused; and if he will make a statement.

Sadiq Khan: I have been asked to reply.
	Currently, there is no agreed methodology for accurately accounting for the emissions from land currently used for food production, or set aside, if displaced by biofuel production. As such, the guidelines for reporting under the Renewable TransportFuels Obligation do not account for these emissions.
	Under the recently adopted Renewable Energy Directive, the European Commission is required to review the impact of indirect land use change from biofuel production on green house gas emissions, and, if necessary, come forward with a methodology for addressing ways to minimise that impact by the end of 2010.
	The Department for Transport has commissioned the development of an indirect land use change methodology through expert stakeholder input and will be making its findings available to the Commission in order to feed into the above-mentioned review.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farms in  (a) West Derbyshire constituency and  (b) the East Midlands were under bovine tuberculosis restrictions (i) in each of the last five years and (ii) on the latest date for which figures are available.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Bovine tuberculosis (TB) statistics are collated and reported in the animal health database down to county level. Therefore it is not possible to distinguish the number of herds under restriction in individual constituencies.
	The following table shows the number of herds under bovine TB movement restrictions at the end of the last 5 years for the East Midlands (Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire), as well as individual figures for Derbyshire. Data for 2009 are to the end of August. The numbers include herds that were under restrictions for any reason related to bovine TB controls, including for instance a new TB breakdown or an overdue TB test.
	
		
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  August 2009 
			 Derbyshire 154 190 143 129 98 
			 East Midlands 199 257 226 247 247 
			  Note:  Information is taken from DEFRA VetNet Animal Health Database.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Nick Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cattle have been slaughtered having tested positive for bovine TB in each of the last five years; how many of those slaughtered did not show signs of TB at post mortem in each year; and how many of those slaughtered had cultures taken at post mortem which subsequently did not confirm the presence of TB in each year.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The following table shows the number of cattle slaughtered under bovine tuberculosis (TB) control measures in Great Britain over the last five years, and the number of these animals with demonstrable post-mortem evidence of infection having tested positive for bovine TB in each of the last five years.
	
		
			   Number of cattle slaughtered( 1)  Number of "confirmed" cases  Number of "unconfirmed" cases( 2) 
			 2008(3) 39,973 13,283 26,690 
			 2007(3) 28,200 9,145 19,055 
			 2006(3) 22,282 7,697 14,585 
			 2005(3) 30,093 8,715 21,378 
			 2004(3) 19,938 6,355 13,583 
			 (1) Includes cattle slaughtered as skin and gamma-interferon test reactors, skin test inconclusive reactors and direct contacts. (2) Number of cattle slaughtered-number of confirmed cases (3) 2004-08 figures are provisional, subject to change as more data become available.  Source: Data are sourced from DEFRA's VetNet Animal Health database, downloaded in December 2009. 
		
	
	Following a TB breakdown we aim to carry out post-mortem inspections of all the slaughtered cattle and to take tissue samples from the reactor (or if several animals must be removed, from a representative subset of those), to attempt isolation and molecular typing of the causative organism in the laboratory. This is done to support epidemiological investigations and management of the incident, rather than to validate the ante-mortem test results.
	Failure to detect lesions of TB by post-mortem examination, or to culture  M.  bovis in the laboratory, does not imply that a test reactor was not infected with bovine TB. Indeed, in the early stages of this disease it is not always possible to observe lesions during abattoir post-mortem examination and, due to the fastidious nature of this organism, it is very difficult to isolate it from tissue samples without visible lesions. Meaningful proportions that subsequently did not confirm disease at culture for TB test reactors cannot be provided, as substantial numbers of skin and gIFN positive animals are not subject to laboratory culture-e.g. once infection has already been identified in other cattle from the same herd.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Vaccination

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has spent on research on a bovine tuberculosis vaccine in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The following table provides a summary of TB vaccines research cost to the Department for each of the last five years.
	
		
			  Expenditure on TB vaccines research between 2004-05 and  2008-09, GB 
			  £000 
			   Cattle vaccine  Badger vaccine  Total 
			 2004-05 343 200 543 
			 2005-06 1,083 918 2,001 
			 2006-07 2,562 2,406 4,968 
			 2007-08 3,074 2,497 5,571 
			 2008-09 3,207 2,184 5,391 
		
	
	These figures do not include the costs of projects concerning the development of cattle and badger diagnostics which are relevant to the development of TB vaccines, therefore the total expenditure on TB vaccines research for each year represents a slight underestimate.

Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science: Shipping

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost to the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science was of operating the CEFAS vessel Endeavour in 2008-09; what estimate he has made of this cost in  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11; how many days the vessel was at sea undertaking research in 2008-09; and what estimate has been made of the equivalent number of such days in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The following table sets out details of the number of days at sea for the CEFAS Endeavour in support of CEFAS managed projects.
	
		
			  Financial year  Days at sea 
			 2008-09 (1)273 
			 2009-10 (2)284 
			 2010-11 (3)275 
			 (1) Completed. (2) Committed. (3) Forecast. 
		
	
	The days at sea figures shown do not take into consideration the time required for mobilisation and demobilisation of scientific equipment before and after each scientific campaign (approximately 40 days per annum). They also exclude the time associated with essential vessel maintenance (approximately 20 days per annum rising to 40 days per annum where scheduled dry docking is required).
	Sea trips are increasingly planned to integrate a number of projects with objectives which can be achieved during the same campaign. This typically requires 24 hour operations, so maximising the scientific returns from a single day of sea time.
	The annual cost of operating the CEFAS Endeavour include, vessel operations and management, technical support, capital charges, fuel and costs and allowances for CEFAS staff on board the vessel during scientific campaigns. The annual services agreement to operate and maintain the vessel was recently let via open competition with a six year contract signed in March 2009. The agreement is subject to terms of confidentiality, hence annual budgets are not included in this response.

Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science: Shipping

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many days the CEFAS vessel Endeavour was  (a) made available by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science and  (b) used by other organisations during 2008-09; and what estimate has been made of the number of such days in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The CEFAS Endeavour is available 365 days per annum for the scheduling of sea trips. Schedule planning must allow time for non-sea going activities such as mobilisation, demobilisation and planned maintenance. These non-sea going activities require between approximately 60 and 80 days per year.
	The CEFAS Endeavour programme in 2008-09 was 100 per cent. dedicated to CEFAS managed projects and no chartering of the vessel to other organisations took place. The committed programme for 2009-10 is also 100 per cent. dedicated to CEFAS managed projects with no chartering of the vessel to other organisations planned. The forecast programme for 2010-11 is based upon the same premise.
	CEFAS managed projects are undertaken on behalf of a range of customers such as DEFRA, the Marine Environmental Protection Fund (MEPF), Joint Nature Conservation Committee and Natural England. In addition, on a project basis, visiting scientists, observers and organisations collaborating with CEFAS (for project delivery) will also be present on the vessel.

Dairy Farming: Cooperatives

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what incentives his Department provides for dairy farmers to establish supplier co-operatives.

Jim Fitzpatrick: DEFRA has provided over £5 million in grant funding to English Farming and Food Partnerships since 2003 to promote collaboration throughout the food supply chain, including amongst dairy producers. There is also funding available under the Rural Development Programme for England to support co-operation between farmers, including dairy farmers, and between farmers and food processors. So far, approximately £12 million has been committed to this measure. DEFRA has not spent any additional money on specific incentives for dairy farmers to establish supplier co-operatives.

Departmental Fixed Penalties

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many non-compliance penalties were imposed by his Department in each of the last five years; what the most common reason was for such penalties being imposed; what the  (a) largest,  (b) smallest,  (c) median and (d) mean penalty was in each such year; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: In answering this question we have taken 'non-compliance penalties' to mean all cases where a reduction has been made to farmers' payments under the single payment scheme. The figures in the following table therefore include minor over-declarations of land area, which in a regulatory sense do not qualify as a 'penalty', as well as regulatory penalties for late claims and breaches of both eligibility and cross compliance rules.
	
		
			  SPS scheme year  Number of penalties  Largest penalty imposed (£)  Smallest penalty imposed (£)  Median penalty imposed (£)  Mean penalty imposed (£) 
			 2005 17,777 59,490.79 0.02 28.91 449.70 
			 2006 12,921 105,263.17 0.06 46.14 529.11 
			 2007 13,719 67,391.91 0.08 54.00 551.84 
			 2008 7,748 135,645.54 0.38 77.88 548.90 
		
	
	We do not yet have data for 2009 as processing checks and inspections have not been completed.
	The most common reason for 'penalties' being imposed is through over-declared land areas.

Departmental Official Cars

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of providing official cars for the use of  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in the last 12 months.

Dan Norris: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Paul Clark) on 16 July 2009,  Official Report, column 80WS.

Departmental Official Cars

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost of provision of Government cars to special advisers in his Department was in the last 12 months.

Dan Norris: No special advisers are provided with an allocated Government car and driver. As with all civil servants, special advisers may use an official car or taxi in certain circumstances. Information on such use is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Travel

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what date he last travelled by  (a) bus and  (b) taxi in the course of his official duties.

Dan Norris: The Secretary of State last travelled by taxi in the course of his official duties on 5 November 2009. He has made no journeys by bus in the course of his official duties.

Drinking Water: Crime

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many prosecutions brought by the Drinking Water Inspectorate have resulted in  (a) convictions and  (b) custodial sentences in each year since 1995; and how many (i) prosecutions brought, (ii) cautions given and (iii) enforcement notices served the Inspectorate was responsible for in each region in each such year.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Drinking Water Inspectorate has brought 64 prosecutions (including cautions) against water companies in England and Wales since 1995 for offences relating to drinking water quality. All but one of these were successful. There have been no custodial sentences.
	
		
			   Number  Regions 
			  Prosecutions (successful)   
			 1995 2 (2) Central, Wales 
			 1996 1 (1) Thames 
			 1997 4 (3) Wales (3), Western 
			 1998 9 (9) Central, Northern (3), Southern, Thames, Wales (3) 
			 1999 10 (10) Central, Eastern (3), Northern (2), Southern (2), Western (2), 
			 2000 5 (5) Northern (4), Thames, 
			 2001 3 (3) Eastern, Southern, Wales 
			 2002 1 (1) Northern 
			 2003 0 - 
			 2004 1 (1) Eastern 
			 2005 0 - 
			 2006 3 (3) Northern (2), Thames 
			 2007 2 (2) Western, Wales 
			 2008 1 (1) Thames 
			
			  Cautions   
			 1995 1 Western 
			 1996 0 - 
			 1997 0 - 
			 1998 2 Northern 
			 1999 0 - 
			 2000 9 Northern (5), Thames (2),  Western (2) 
			 2001 3 Northern (2), Southern 
			 2002 2 Northern (2) 
			 2003 2 Northern, Wales 
			 2004 1 Thames 
			 2005 2 Northern, Southern 
			 2006 0 - 
			 2007 0 - 
			 2008 0 - 
		
	
	The Drinking Water Inspectorate has initiated enforcement action 1,084 times since 1995. It has not been possible to divide these figures by region.
	
		
			   Enforcements 
			 1995 143 
			 1996 148 
			 1997 189 
			 1998 156 
			 1999 129 
			 2000 81 
			 2001 45 
			 2002 28 
			 2003 29 
			 2004 21 
			 2005 23 
			 2006 8 
			 2007 29 
			 2008 55

Flood Control: Finance

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the expected expenditure on each  (a) capital and  (b) resource expenditure flood defence project (i) under way and (ii) completed in the last two years was at the date of scheme approval.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Environment Agency does not hold the information required to answer this question in a format that could be completed without incurring disproportionate costs.
	The Environment Agency is on track to deliver a programme of flood and coastal risk management schemes that over three years is set to exceed the challenging target to provide increased protection to 145,000 households.
	The Environment Agency continuously strives to improve its procurement and management of construction and engineering projects. Since 2007 it has completed 102 major flood defence schemes that have protected over 63,000 properties from flooding in England.
	Through the Environment Agency's Streamlining project it has been able to reduce the cost of project development, meaning that a greater proportion of the money is actually spent on constructing defences than ever before.

Flood Control: Water Companies

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps water companies are required to take to ensure that pumping stations for the drainage of low-lying areas are protected against flooding.

Jim Fitzpatrick: It is for individual water and sewerage companies to decide how best to protect their infrastructure from the effects of flooding. Companies have a duty to provide safe and secure water and sewerage services to their customers.
	In its final determinations Ofwat has allowed water companies to invest £414 million on improving the resilience of their water and sewerage services against external hazards such as flooding.

Food: Procurement

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consideration his Department has given to introducing a sustainable seafood public procurement policy.

Jim Fitzpatrick: We are working closely with the Department of Health and the Food Standards Agency on the development of the Healthier Food Mark, an award scheme for public sector catering services offering healthier and more sustainable food. Criteria on sustainable seafood are included at all three levels of the scheme, which is currently being tested in a pre-consultation pilot.

Hill Farming

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of farmers in the English uplands required to maintain adequate land management capacity.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The 2007 June Survey data suggest that the number of holdings in the English uplands (Severely Disadvantaged Areas) has increased by approximately 3,000 since 2000. This increase has largely been driven by an increase in small (less than 10 hectares) holdings. There appears to be no change in the number of holdings greater than 10 hectares in size over the same period.
	DEFRA recognises the vital role which upland farmers can play in delivering landscape and environmental benefits, and will, therefore, introduce the new Uplands Entry Level Scheme (Uplands ELS) in 2010. Uplands ELS will reward those upland farmers who deliver existing good practice, as well as encouraging positive change. Unlike the current Hill Farm Allowance scheme, Uplands ELS will be open to all farmers in the English uplands, provided they meet the rules.

Horticulture: Research

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  whether his Department plans to increase its funding for horticultural research in the next three years;
	(2)  what funding his Department has provided for horticultural research and development in the last 12 months;
	(3)  how much funding his Department provided for agricultural and horticultural research in  (a) 2008 and  (b) 2009 to date.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Funding for DEFRA's farming and food research and development programme is allocated in line with the Department's strategic priorities and policy evidence requirements. DEFRA is currently developing a new Evidence Investment Strategy which will inform priorities for future years.
	Research investment in the farming and food area is within cross-cutting programmes, for example agriculture and climate change and sustainable farming systems, and these programmes include activity relevant to the horticulture sector.
	Within these programmes, in the current financial year, DEFRA has committed approximately £4.5 million on research relevant to horticulture. £6.7 million was spent on similar work in the 2008-09 financial year.
	Overall, DEFRA invested £63 million in 2008-09 on food and agricultural (including horticultural) research. It is anticipated that funding will be similar in 2009-10.

Nature Conservation: Crime

Ian Cawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people were  (a) proceeded against and  (b) convicted of offences under the provisions of the (i) Badgers Act 1991, (ii) Deer Act 1991 and (iii) Wild Mammals Protection Act 1996 in 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Information from the court proceedings database held by the Ministry of Justice showing the number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences under the Badgers Act 1911, Deer Act 1991 and Wild Mammals Protection Act 1996, in England and Wales in 2007 is given in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for selected offences,( 1,2)  England and Wales 2007 
			  Offence description  Statute  Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			 Offence of cruelty to badgers and special protection for badgers and their setts Badgers Act 1973, as amended by Criminal Justice Act 1991 and Badgers Act 1991 20 6 
			 Killing or injuring deer by shooting, trap, snares etc. Deer Act 1991 3 1 
			 Offences under this act Wild Mammals Protection Act 1996 7 3 
			 (1)The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.  (2)Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.   Source:  Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice. (Job ref: 573-09).

Nitrate Vulnerable Zones

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farms there are in nitrate vulnerable zones in each region of England; and what the  (a) size and  (b) location is of each such farm.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The partial impact assessment accompanying the August 2007 consultation on the implementation of the nitrates directive in England estimated the number of farms in the NVZ in each region of the UK on the basis of the 2005 agricultural census.
	
		
			   Number 
			 North East 1,078 
			 North West 15,144 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 14,980 
			 East Midlands 20,431 
			 West Midlands 20,350 
			 Eastern 22,777 
			 South East 20,328 
			 South West 24,514 
			 Total 139,601 
		
	
	Details of the size and location of each farm could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ports

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  whether his Department has issued any recent guidance on the development of marinas on canals;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with British Waterways on the development of marinas on canals.

Jim Fitzpatrick: DEFRA is not responsible for issuing guidance on the construction or location of marinas and there have not been any recent discussions with British Waterways on this issue. Developers of new marinas must comply with the relevant planning requirements. Planning controls are a matter for the Department of Communities and Local Government.
	Marinas are however an essential facility to support the use of the waterways network and its significant contribution to the wider visitor economy. Offline marinas prevent congestion along our historic waterways and so free up the navigation for leisure and commercial use. This is particularly important in the light of substantial growth in boat numbers over the past 10 years.

Poultry

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of turkey sales in the UK was of domestically produced birds in each year since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: DEFRA does not record information on turkey sales in the UK.

Primates: Sales

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what criteria his Department uses to determine whether trading in animals as pets constitutes a business for the purposes of section 7(1) of the Pet Animals Act 1951.

Jim Fitzpatrick: This Department does not use any criteria-it is the responsibility of the appropriate local authority to consider all the relevant factors relating to each individual case. Factors to be considered would include the number of animals being sold and the potential value of sales.

Primates: Sales

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what definition his Department uses of too early an age for the purposes of regulating the sale of primates from the  (a) cebus,  (b) callithrix,  (c) saimin and  (d) saguinus species under the Pet Animals Act 1951; and what methodology his Department used to determine such ages.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department does not define too early an age. When determining whether to grant a licence for a pet shop, local authorities must have regard to the need for ensuring that no mammal will be sold at too early an age. Local authorities should be making such decisions based on advice from professional people such as appropriate veterinary surgeons or other suitable experts.

Primates: Sales

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer of 15 July 2009,  Official Report, column 388W, on primates, what steps the Government is taking to end the trade in primates as pets.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government have no plans to end the trade in primates as pets.

Sewers

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what  (a) consultation he has undertaken and  (b) representations he has received on the proposed transfer of drains and sewers to water and sewerage undertakers in England and Wales.

Jim Fitzpatrick: In July 2003 DEFRA published the Review of Existing Private Sewers and Drains in England and Wales consultation paper that sought views on a range of strategic options to deal with the problems of private sewers. The Government published a response to this consultation in October 2004. 81 per cent. of stakeholders favoured a change of ownership, and of these, 90 per cent. held the view that sewerage undertakers should take over responsibility. DEFRA acknowledged the strength of support for this solution and undertook to look at it in more depth.
	Subsequently, representatives of 50 stakeholder groups were invited to a private sewers seminar in January 2005. This included a workshop looking at the potential impacts on small businesses. DEFRA undertook a telephone survey of over 130 drainage contractors to identify the potential impacts of any transfer on them and also commissioned qualitative customer research to investigate customers' potential views on transfer to water and sewerage companies.
	In February 2007 the Government published their decision paper and committed to consult on options for the implementation of transfer. A consultation paper on implementation options was published in July 2007 and The Secretary of State announced on 15 December 2008 the Government's decision to proceed with transfer from 2011.
	Copies of the 2003 and 2007 consultation papers and the Government's 2004 response to the review were placed in the Library of the House on publication. A Summary of Responses to the 2007 Consultation on Implementation Options was published in March 2008 and is available from DEFRA. Further consultation on the content of regulations to implement transfer will be published this winter.
	My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, has received representations from a range of interested stakeholders during the course of the Review. DEFRA continues to consult with key stakeholders through working groups and meetings in developing proposals for implementation.

Sheep: Conservation

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding his Department has provided for the protection of the Herdwick indigenous sheep flock in each year since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: In 2001, DEFRA granted £10,000 to create the Heritage Gene Bank which was set up to preserve semen and embryos from breeds considered to be at risk due to the foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak of the time. The Herdwick was one of the breeds considered to be at risk because the majority of its breeding population were in or near to areas heavily affected by FMD.
	DEFRA recognises the need to have a long term view on managing the genetic health of our livestock breeding population and the need for a co-ordinated effort to support initiatives that will encourage the characterisation, conservation and utilisation of our livestock genetic resources-which includes rare, mainstream and heritage livestock breeds. The National Standing Committee on Farm Animal Genetic Resources is currently advising Ministers on implementing the UK's national action plan on farm animal genetic resources which was published in 2006.
	In England, from next year, the use of hardy native sheep breeds will be one of the factors contributing points towards eligibility for payments under the new Uplands Entry Level Stewardship Scheme. Although not confined to Herdwicks, those with Herdwick sheep may be able to gain benefits under the scheme which will thereby provide indirect support for the breed.

Waste Disposal: Hazardous Substances

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many waste treatment sites treat toxic waste; at what distance from the nearest residential building each such site is located; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Norris: There are 224 sites that treat hazardous waste. I have arranged for a list of these sites to be placed in the Library of the House.
	The centrally available distance data in this list are derived from the system that the Environment Agency uses as part of the risk assessment it carries out before authorising permits for sites. The permitting system is intended to ensure that the waste operations it authorises are carried out in a way that protects human health and the environment. The distances are not limited to residential buildings and cover a far wider range of potential receptors such as commercial and industrial premises, playing fields and parks as well as housing.

Waste Disposal: Hazardous Substances

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what definition his Department uses of  (a) toxic and  (b) hazardous waste; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Norris: Hazardous waste is defined by reference to the European Commission's definition of hazardous waste which is based on the list set out in EC Decision 2000/532/EC. Essentially hazardous waste displays one or more of the hazardous properties that are set out in EC legislation at above specified thresholds and which may cause harm to human health or the environment if not managed in an appropriately controlled manner.
	Toxicity is one of the properties that may make a waste hazardous. Toxic substances and preparations are those which, if they are inhaled or ingested, or if they penetrate the skin, may involve serious acute or chronic health risks or even death.

Waste Management

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when his Department will provide a clear time line for amending the Environmental Permitting Regulations to reflect the adoption of the end of waste concept; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Norris: In DEFRA's view, it would be premature to carry out a review of the requirements of the Environmental Permitting Regulations that apply to fuel manufactured from waste before the conclusion of the procedures necessary to comply with the Technical Standards Directive (TSD) (98/34/EC) in relation to the draft end-of-waste protocol for fuel produced from waste lubricating oils, developed in response to the Appeal Court's judgment in the OSS case. The European Commission and Austria have now commented on that draft protocol under Article 8(2) of the TSD. The UK is required to take such comments into account and this legal obligation is currently being fulfilled. On conclusion of our consideration of the comments made under Article 8(2) of the TSD, we will consider further a review of the requirements of the Environmental Permitting Regulations that apply to fuel manufactured from waste.

Water: EU Law

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his most recent estimate is of the cost to the water industry of meeting the water quality targets contained in the EU Water Framework Directive.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The most recent estimate of cost to the water industry across England and Wales of achieving water quality targets determined under the first planning round of the Water Framework Directive is £174,000,000. This includes £117,000,000 in one-off costs and £57,000,000 average annual costs over the six years of the first River Basin Management Plans from 2009-2015. These figures include the costs of investigations which are essential to progressing work within the future planning rounds of the Directive.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Capita

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether any contracts between Capita Group plc and his Department have been cancelled before completion since 1997; and whether Capita Group plc has been liable for any penalties arising from failings in the administration of contracts since 1997.

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO), including its arms length bodies and the Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland, but excluding its agencies and NDPBs, has no record of any contracts awarded to Capita Group plc since 1997.
	The NIO departmental disposal policy states that records of contracts do not have to be held longer than six years and financial records seven years. Central Procurement Directorate (CPD) records go back to 2001. No records are available beyond this year.
	The information provided is based on contracts which have been conducted through the NIO central procurement unit prior to November 2003 and the Department of Finance and Personnel's CPD since November 2003.

Departmental Information Officers

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many full-time equivalent press officers  (a) are employed by and  (b) work for his Department.

Shaun Woodward: There are a total of 8.5 press officers employed by, and work for, my Department.

Departmental Legislation

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what criminal offences have been  (a) abolished and  (b) created by primary legislation sponsored by his Department since 1 May 2008.

Paul Goggins: The primary legislation made by the Northern Ireland Office since 1 May 2008 which abolished or created criminal offences is as follows:
	The Sexual Offences (NI) Order 2008, implemented in February 2009, reformed the body of law on sexual offences. The order contains all criminal offences in relation to sexual offending behaviour. Articles 81 and 83 and schedules 1 and 3 to the order list the old offences which were repealed and article 5 abolished the common law offence of rape.
	The Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008, made in May 2008, created nine new offences. Articles 52, 53, 65(6) and 91(4) contain four new driving-related offences; article 68 created one new offence in relation to alcohol consumption in designated public places; and the remaining offences relate to prison security. Article 71, a single offence of assisting or permitting a person to escape from lawful custody has replaced the separate offences of rescuing, or assisting or permitting the escape of, a person sentenced to death or for life, and rescuing or assisting or permitting the escape of other prisoners, formerly in sections 29 and 30 of the Prison Act (NI) 1953. Articles 77 and 78 create offences in relation to conveying articles into or out of prison. These replace the offences of conveying spirits or alcohol or other articles into prison (formerly in sections 34 and 35 of the Prison (NI) Act) with a more extensive prohibition. No offences were repealed by the order.

Departmental Pay

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff in his Department received bonus payments in  (a) 2007-08 and  (b) 2008-09; what proportion of the total work force they represented; what the total amount of bonuses paid was; what the largest single payment was; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: Non-consolidated performance payments are made to staff in the senior civil service in line with Cabinet Office Guidance and also to staff at grades D2 to A in line with HM Treasury Guidance. These payments are made at the end of the reporting year to reward performance throughout the year retrospectively.
	Under a separate scheme special performance payments are awarded to staff at grades D2 to A.
	Figures for the last two years are set out in the following tables.
	
		
			  Non-consolidated performance payments 
			   2007-08  2008-09 
			 Number of staff (1)409 563 
			 Proportion (percentage) 26 28 
			 Total amount (£) 609,875.00 599,048.50 
			 Largest payment (£) 18,000 11,000 
			 (1 )The details for the 2007-08 non-consolidated performance payments do not include payments made by the Northern Ireland Prison Service to staff below senior civil service. 
		
	
	
		
			  Special performance payments 
			  2007-08 2008-09 
			 Number of staff 809 996 
			 Proportion (percentage) 40 49 
			 Total amount(£) 227,349.48 260,865.00 
			 Largest payment (£) 750 900

Departmental Public Expenditure

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost to his Department was of the provision of office facilities to  (a) special advisers and  (b) press officers in the 2008-09 financial year.

Paul Goggins: Northern Ireland Office (NIO) special advisers and press officers are located alongside other NIO staff in a number of buildings. Rent, rates and utilities, etc., are charged on the basis of the entire building, and the cost of specific areas of the building or accommodation for groups or individuals within the building could not be separated from the overall running costs of the entire building.

Disabled

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what meetings he has had with disability organisations since his appointment.

Shaun Woodward: I have not met directly with any of the disability organisations since my appointment as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Iraq Committee of Inquiry

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what position each official in his Department seconded to the Iraq Committee of Inquiry held between January 2001 and December 2003; and for what matters each was responsible in each such year.

Paul Goggins: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Tessa Jowell) on 3 December 2009,  Official Report, columns 974-75W.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationality

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many foreign national prisoners were discharged from a sentence of imprisonment in Northern Ireland in  (a) 2008 and  (b) each month in 2009 for which figures are available.

Paul Goggins: In 2008, the Northern Ireland Prison Service discharged 188 sentenced foreign national prisoners.
	From 1 January to 30 November 2009, the service discharged 234 sentenced foreign national prisoners, as shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Number discharged 
			 January 13 
			 February 11 
			 March 25 
			 April 24 
			 May 22 
			 June 21 
			 July 26 
			 August 24 
			 September 13 
			 October 30 
			 November 25 
			 Total 234

Sexual Offences

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  how many sex offenders were housed in dormitory accommodation in HM Prison Magilligan  (a) in the nine months up to August 2009 and  (b) on the latest date for which figures are available; on what authority they were so housed; and what steps have been taken to move them to single cell accommodation;
	(2)  how many sex offenders have been moved to open type accommodation at Foyleview in the last three months; and what steps have been taken to inform the local population of the matter.

Paul Goggins: In the nine months up to August 2009 there was an average of 55 sex offenders held in dormitory type accommodation; at 3 December 2009 there were 47 sex offenders held in this accommodation unit. Staff at Magilligan are in the process of reallocating prisoner accommodation, following the refurbishment of H blocks, which will reduce the numbers in dormitory accommodation to 32, with the intention of introducing partitions to provide for increased privacy.
	All prisoners, regardless of offence, may occupy cellular accommodation, single rooms or dormitories.
	On 24 September 2009 five sex offenders were transferred to Foyleview semi-open accommodation unit (a low supervision unit within the Magilligan prison complex) and as of 3 December 2009 nine sex offenders were located there. This is part of our strategy to make the most effective use of prisoner accommodation, based on prisoners satisfactorily completing a risk assessment and meeting the strict criteria necessary for their placement.
	Before being transferred to Foyleview, prisoners must be assessed at category C level-the lowest category of risk assessment. Each prisoner accepted to Foyleview has been admitted as a result of his progression through the prison regime, though where a prisoner fails to comply with the requirements of the unit, they may be returned to the main prison complex.
	There is no obligation on NIPS to inform the public.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Colombia

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department has taken to seek to ensure the implementation of EU guidelines on the protection of human rights defenders in Colombia in 2009.

Chris Bryant: When I visited Colombia, I issued a joint statement with President Uribe and the Foreign Minister declaring that
	"the defence of human rights is necessary and legitimate for democracy, in a country like Colombia which is proud of being fully open and ready for international Scrutiny on this subject".
	We work closely with EU partners, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and human rights defenders on implementation of the EU guidelines on human rights defenders. For example, we have made visits to rural communities, including the Curvarado River Basin, and more recently Popoyan, to visit communities and human rights defenders that are under threat, and we are planning further visits in conjunction with EU partners.
	We also make representations to the Colombian authorities in specific cases of violence or threats against individual or collective human rights defenders. Our ambassador recently wrote to the Colombian Director of Human Rights, Carlos Franco, to request a greater level of protection for a human rights defender under threat. We also make our support clearly visible by visiting those under threat at their places of work.
	We undertake a range of project work alongside Colombian and international NGOs aimed at supporting the work of human rights defenders. For example, we run two projects on tackling impunity in the criminal justice system, and three specifically aimed at promoting and strengthening the position of human rights defenders in Colombia.

Colombia

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department has plans to monitor the trial in Colombia of Jorge Noguera Cotes, former head of the internal security department in that country.

Chris Bryant: Yes, we will follow this trial with interest.

Colombia

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department has taken to assist human rights defenders in Colombia in each quarter of 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: We are involved in a number of activities to help human rights defenders in Colombia, and to support their cause. In October 2009 I visited Colombia, where I urged President Uribe to ensure that human rights defenders were properly supported and protected.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary recently met Eduardo Carreno, a Colombian human rights lawyer, to discuss the problems human rights defenders face, and to express the UK's support for their cause. Our ambassador in Bogota and his officials make representations to the Colombian Government in specific cases of violence or threats against human rights defenders, and visit them at their offices to demonstrate the UK's support.
	In addition to our lobbying activities, we also provide practical support through our project work in the areas of freedom of expression, tackling impunity, equality and promoting civil society.

Departmental Buildings

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many residential properties his Department owns; and how many  (a) are occupied and  (b) have been empty for more than six months.

Chris Bryant: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office owns 1,391 residential properties throughout our overseas network. This includes the official residences of our heads of post and other staff accommodation. We do not own any residential properties in the UK.
	Monitoring the occupancy of our residential properties is not done centrally, as the day-to-day management of the estate is carried out by our overseas missions.

Departmental Recruitment

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of jobs advertised by his Department in the last 12 months were online only applications; and what provision his Department makes for those wishing to apply for jobs in his Department who do not have access to the internet.

Chris Bryant: Within the last 12 months, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has advertised for 211 vacancies in the national press and on our website. Online application forms were used for 164 (78 per cent.) of these vacancies. The remaining 47 vacancies (22 per cent.) were advertised inviting applications via email and hard copy. Alternative application methods are considered on request for all our vacancies.

EC Law: Agriculture

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the UK Permanent Representative to the EU has had with  (a) the Welsh Assembly Government and  (b) the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission on the application of European Commission rules to the transitional arrangements for EU agri-environment schemes in Wales.

Chris Bryant: None.

EU Law

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what EC legislative instruments, including provisions on criminal law, which apply to the UK and are in force or are due to come into force, have been adopted on the basis of provisions of the Treaty establishing the European Community other than those in Title IV of Part Three of that Treaty.

Claire Ward: I have been asked to reply.
	Two legislative instruments containing criminal law provisions in the first pillar were adopted under the provisions of the treaty establishing the European Community other than those of Title IV of Part III of the treaty. Directive 2008/99/EC on the protection of the environment through criminal law was adopted on 19 November 2008. The instrument is in force and the deadline for transposition is December 2010. The amending directive 2005/35/EC on ship source pollution and on the introduction of penalties for infringements was adopted in March 2009. The instrument is not yet in force.

European Union: Fines

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what financial penalties the Government has paid to European Union institutions in the first six months of 2009.

Chris Bryant: The UK has never incurred a financial penalty for failure to comply with a European Court of Justice judgment under Article 228 (ex Article 171) of the treaty establishing the European Community.

Fiji

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent steps he has taken to encourage Fiji to rejoin the Commonwealth.

Chris Bryant: Following the military coup in December 2006, Fiji was suspended from the Councils of the Commonwealth. The situation deteriorated further in April 2009, with the abrogation of the constitution, suspension of the courts, censorship of the press and re-establishment of Public Emergency Regulations. In July, Military Commander and interim PM, Voreqe Bainimarama, announced a 'Roadmap for Change', which ruled out holding democratic elections until 2014. As a member of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, the UK took a full role in discussions which led to Fiji's full suspension from the Commonwealth on 1 September 2009. The regime can be erratic: the Australian and New Zealand Heads of Mission were suddenly expelled on 3 November 2009. This was the third New Zealand Head of Mission expulsion since the coup.
	Full suspension from the Commonwealth means Fiji is no longer eligible for Commonwealth technical assistance, and can no longer participate in Commonwealth sporting events. While the Commonwealth Games Federation has voted to exclude Fiji from the Commonwealth Games, Fiji officials continue to lobby for Fiji participation. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) reinforced suspension from the Commonwealth calling for an early return to democracy, respect for human rights and respect for the rule of law. CHOGM also made clear that sporting ties under the Commonwealth name are inseparable from the values of the association.
	The Commonwealth is keen to readmit Fiji, but only when the regime demonstrates a clear and committed willingness to return to democracy and adhere to the principles of the Harare Declaration, which includes a commitment to the respect for fundamental human rights. The UK continues in its policy of engagement with the regime to work towards these common objectives, both in Suva and in other capitals, and works closely with the EU, UN and regional partners in encouraging Fiji towards an early return to democratic principles and the rule of law.

Holidays Abroad: Death

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British citizens have  (a) died whilst abroad and  (b) had their death reported to the British Embassy in the relevant country in each of the last five years.

Chris Bryant: Figures collated by consular directorate in previous years related only to deaths that required action by our staff. Since April 2008, we have updated our guidance to include cases where we have been notified of a death even if no action has been necessary.
	Based on the above criteria, the number of deaths recorded by consular staff overseas over the last five years are as follows:
	
		
			  April to March each year  Number of deaths 
			 2004-05 3,925 
			 2005-06 4,071 
			 2006-07 4,577 
			 2007-08 4,157 
			 2008-09 5,629

Iraq: Prisoners

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department holds on the  (a) conditions under which Daniel Fitzsimmons has been detained since the incident in respect of which he is to stand trial in Iraq and  (b) judicial process by which that trial will be conducted; and what representations he has received from relatives of those who died in that incident.

Chris Bryant: Mr. Fitzsimons is being held at a police station in the International Zone in Baghdad where he is visited regularly by our consular staff. He has not raised any concerns with us about the conditions in which he is being held.
	The judicial process is a matter for the Iraqi authorities. However, we will make representations to the authorities should it become clear that there are concerns around the ongoing legal proceedings in comparison with internationally recognised standards or local procedure.
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office consular staff have been in regular contact with the deceased British national's family to ensure he was repatriated to the UK as soon as was practicably possible and to discuss any other ongoing concerns they have.

Students: Extremism

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department's most recent assessment is of the level of threat to national security posed by foreign extremists, violent extremists and terrorists on student campuses in the UK.

David Lammy: holding answer 30 November 2009
	I have been asked to reply.
	Our assessment is that there is some extremist activity happening in Higher Education Institutions within the UK. The problem is not widespread but where it does occur it is serious. For national security reasons, we cannot release details of which institutions.

TRANSPORT

Arriva: Government Assistance

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what net subsidy was paid to Arriva Buses from the public purse in  (a) England and  (b) West Yorkshire in the latest period for which figures are available.

Sadiq Khan: The Government subsidises bus services in England through the Department for Transport's Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) which is paid to operators of local bus services.
	In 2008-09, Arriva England were paid £66,753,127.18 and Arriva Yorkshire West Ltd. were paid £2,042,380.03.

Aviation: Greater London

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport if his Department will ensure that details of all air flights over London are publicly available and open to public inspection so that any resident is able to obtain accurate information as to how many flights fly over a particular London borough.

Paul Clark: These are operational matters for NATS and the Department for Transport does not hold the information in the form and detail requested. Assistance may be available from the chief executive of NATS with his inquiries. His address is:
	Paul Barron
	Chief Executive
	NATS
	Corporate and Technical Centre
	4000 Parkway
	Whiteley
	Fareham
	Hants PO15 7FL

Aviation: Greater London

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport whether his Department has any plans to improve the provision of information relating to noise levels from air traffic in London.

Paul Clark: The Secretary of State for Transport publishes annual aircraft noise contour maps for Heathrow airport which are designated under section 80 for the purposes of section 78 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 for noise control purposes. These follow the standard UK practice of producing aircraft noise contours for the average summer's day (Leq 16 hour, 07.00 to 23.00) where 'summer' is the 92 day period from 16 June to 15 September.
	The contours are produced in three dB bands starting at 57 Leq which the Department for Transport regards as the approximate onset of significant community annoyance. Therefore the contours will encompass those areas of London exposed to 57 Leq or more. Contour details are available on the Department's website at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/aviation/environmentalissues/nec/
	The Secretary of State is not responsible for the production of noise contour maps at non designated airports. However London City airport also produces annual noise contours on a similar basis which are available on the London City Airport Consultative Committee's website at
	http://www.lcacc.org/
	Modelling aircraft levels at lower levels becomes increasingly uncertain as the noise level decreases, primarily because of difficulties in obtaining aircraft noise measurements that are not contaminated with other sources of noise, such as traffic noise.

Bicycles

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent steps his Department has taken to increase the number of people who cycle.

Sadiq Khan: The Department for Transport is providing considerable support for projects to increase cycling, through Cycling England. Cycling England was established by the Department to get more people cycling, more safely, more often. We have increased their budget to £140 million over three years (running from 2008-09 to 2010-11).
	Current cycling projects include the Cycling Demonstration Towns and Cycling City (we are investing £48 million in these) and 'Bikeability' cycle training. The first six cycle demonstration towns showed an average increase in cycling of 27 per cent. Our grants for Bikeability will enable an extra 500,000 children to take part in cycle training which meets the National Standard by 2012(1). This year, we are providing almost £10 million to train around 200,000 children.
	In September of this year, the Secretary of State for Transport, announced a major £14 million package to transform facilities for cyclists at rail stations (£4 million of which is from Cycling England's budget).
	In October of this year, the Department set up the Cycle to Work Guarantee. Signing up to the guarantee commits employers to helping their employees cycle to work, by providing them with improved cycle facilities, and giving them access to the Government's tax break scheme for new bicycles and equipment.
	The Department is also developing the evidence base for the outcomes and benefits of cycling, and provides guidance on increasing cycling to local authorities. For example, in November this year, we produced guidance to local authorities on delivering sustainable low carbon travel(2).
	We have also invested £10 million from 2004-09 on the 'Sustainable Travel Towns', initial results of which indicate cycling increases of at least 12 per cent.
	(1) The 'National Standard' for cycle training (for children and adults) was launched by us in 2005.
	(2) Delivering Sustainable Low Carbon Travel: An Essential Guide for Local Authorities (November 2009).

Bicycles: Safety

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent steps his Department has taken to increase cycling safety.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport has taken a number of steps to increase the level of safety for cyclists. We are aware that safety concerns are a deterrent for many people to cycle more, or to allow their children to cycle, and so it is an important aspect of our cycling promotion work.
	To this end we have:
	Developed a new National Standard for Cycle Training suitable for children and adults. We provided grants to local authorities to enable an extra 500,000 children to take part in Bikeability training by 2012. (Our Bikeability training meets the National Standard.) This year, we are providing almost £10 million to train around 200,000 children.
	Through Cycling England's Links to Schools Programme, funded improvements to infrastructure which will include at least 250 safer routes to approximately 500 schools.
	Launched a new THINK! education website with resources for primary school teachers, pupils and parents covering the themes of cycle training, wearing the correct clothes, cycle maintenance and using the Highway Code.
	Proposed, in our consultation on a new road safety strategy, to provide greater encouragement for local authorities to introduce 20 mph limits and zones in streets which are primarily residential in nature.
	Commissioned a two-year research project looking at a range of road safety and cycling issues including casualty data, infrastructure, attitudes and cycle helmets.
	And finally
	We have recently completed a study considering the safety aspects of a range of supplementary devices on large goods vehicles, including the Fresnel lens, in order to reduce blind spots which can be particularly dangerous to cyclists.

Bus Services

Graham Stringer: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport when he expects the panel of members for the Quality Contract Scheme approvals board to be appointed.

Sadiq Khan: I expect to make an announcement about Quality Contracts Schemes shortly.

Bus Services

Graham Stringer: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many bus monitoring officer posts there were in each traffic commissioner area in  (a) England,  (b) Wales and  (c) Scotland in each of the last five years; and how many such posts were funded by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency.

Paul Clark: The information requested is in the following table:
	
		
			   England  Wales  Scotland 
			 2004 10 3 4 
			 2005 10 3 4 
			 2006 10 3 6 
			 2007 10 3 6 
			 2008 10 3 6 
			 2009 10 3 6 
		
	
	The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency does not fund bus monitoring officer posts.

Bus Services

Graham Stringer: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many research projects his Department has commissioned in the 2009-10 financial year to assess the likely effects on bus services of changes to the Bus Service Operators Grant; and what the  (a) title and  (b) remit was of each such research project.

Sadiq Khan: The Department for Transport has commissioned no research projects in the 2009-10 financial year to assess the likely effects on bus services of changes to the Bus Service Operators Grant.

Bus Services: Lincolnshire

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much has been paid in kickstart grants to improve bus services in North East Lincolnshire.

Sadiq Khan: £522,067 has been paid to North East Lincolnshire council in kickstart grants to improve bus services.

Caparo Group

Graham Stuart: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what meetings  (a) the Secretary of State,  (b) other Ministers and  (c) officials in his Department have had with Angad Paul in each of the last three years.

Chris Mole: There have been no meetings between the Secretary of State for Transport, other Ministers or officials in the Department and Mr. Paul in the last three years.

Caparo Group

Graham Stuart: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport whether his Department holds contracts with each company of the Caparo Group.

Chris Mole: There is one contract with AP Braking Limited of the Caparo Group where the Department for Transport provides services for approval of vehicle brakes.

Cars: Fuels

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what steps his Department is taking to increase the fuel efficiency of new cars.

Sadiq Khan: The Government were a strong supporter of the New Car CO2 regulation adopted in April 2009. The regulation aims to reduce CO2 emissions by setting manufacturers average CO2 targets based on the new cars they produce that are registered in the EU. In particular, the Government played a successful leading role, in calling for an ambitious long-term target in the regulation. This target of 95g/km means that, on average, new cars will emit 40 per cent. less CO2 in 2020 compared to 2007. In the UK alone, this is expected to save 7.6MtC02 per year by 2020.
	In addition, the Government have allocated over £400 million to deliver policies, through the new cross Whitehall Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), aiming to place the UK at the global forefront of ultra-low carbon vehicle development, demonstration, manufacture and us. Details of OLEV's work can be found here:
	www.dft.gov.uk/olev

Departmental Consultants

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many external consultants work for his Department.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport does not hold the information centrally and it could be provided only by incurring disproportionate cost. However, following a search across the Department's Human Resources systems, it is known that 146 external consultants work for the Department. The following table provides a breakdown of the number of consultants:
	
		
			   Number of consultants 
			 Department for Transport Central 95 
			 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (1)40 
			 Vehicle Certification Agency 0 
			 Vehicle and Operator Services Agency 10 
			 Government Car and Despatch Agency 1 
			 Total 146 
			 (1) The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency figure only includes the number of consultants appointed through their Consultancy and Interim Management Services (CIMS) Framework Agreement. The total number could only be provided at disproportionate cost. 
		
	
	The Driving Standards Agency, Highways Agency and Marine and Coastguard Agency could provide the information requested only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Food

Roger Williams: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what estimate he has made of the proportion of  (a) lamb,  (b) beef,  (c) chicken,  (d) pork,  (e) turkey,  (f) other meats,  (g) vegetables and  (h) fruit procured by his Department that was produced in the UK in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport contributes annually towards the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Procurement of Food and Catering Services Report which can be found at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/policy/publicsectorfood/awareness.htm
	The report gives details of the proportion of domestically produced meat, fruit and vegetable purchased. The figures for 2008-09 will be published by DEFRA at the end of 2009.

Departmental Legislation

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what criminal offences have been  (a) abolished and  (b) created by primary legislation sponsored by his Department since 1 May 2008.

Chris Mole: No criminal offences have been abolished by primary legislation falling within the scope of the question.
	A number of criminal offences have been created by the Crossrail Act 2008 and the Local Transport Act 2008. These are:
	 Crossrail Act 2008 (c. 18)
	1. Schedule 4, paragraph 2(2) - creates an offence of installing an electric line above ground without prior consent.
	2. Schedule 12, Part 4, paragraph 18(6) - creates an offence of intentionally altering, suppressing or destroying a document which has been required to be produced by a notice served by the Secretary of State for Transport where a transfer scheme is proposed (such schemes provide for the transfer of property, rights and liabilities).
	 Local Transport Act 2008 (c.26)
	1. Section 44 - will, when in force, insert a new section 134B(11) into the Transport Act 2000 (c. 38). Section 134(B)(11) will create an offence in relation to the provision of information that is false or misleading by a person operating local services. It is expected that section 44 will be brought into force in January 2010.
	2. Section 55 - amended section 36 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (c.50) to impose new duties on the drivers of certain taxis and private hire vehicles. Breach of the duties is a criminal offence and so the effect of section 55 is to expand the scope of an existing offence.
	3. Section 115 - amended section 174 of the Transport Act 2000 and paragraph 25 of Schedule 23 to the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (c.29) to make it an offence, in particular circumstances, to interfere with the functioning of any equipment to do with road user charging. It was already an offence to interfere with the equipment itself.
	The following have not been included in this answer as they are not considered to be covered by the scope of the question:
	(a) provisions in primary legislation which enable secondary legislation to be made (and offences to be included in that legislation); and
	(b) provisions which change the penalties for contravening existing offences (including in particular circumstances, for instance where the offence is Crossrail related).

Departmental Parking

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent steps he has taken to improve  (a) bicycle,  (b) lorry and  (c) car parking provision; and how much his Department has spent on such provision in each year since 1997.

Sadiq Khan: The Department for Transport (DfT) allocates integrated transport block and highways maintenance funding to local transport authorities for capital investment in transport. Funding provided by the Department to local authorities is not generally ring-fenced and local authorities have discretion to spend their allocations in line with their priorities, such as the provision of improved cycle, lorry and car parking.
	Total allocations provided to English local transport authorities (outside London) since 1997 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Allocation  (£ million) 
			 2009-10 1,345.000 
			 2008-09 1,280.000 
			 2007-08 1,254.000 
			 2006-07 1,218.871 
			 2005-06 1,215.285 
			 2004-05 1,308.411 
			 2003-04 1,178.476 
			 2002-03 1,123.443 
			 2001-02 1,074.045 
			 2000-01 514.393 
			 1999-2000 535.325 
			 1998-99 479.060 
			 1997-98 584.151 
			  Note: Since 2000 the allocations comprise integrated transport block grant and highways maintenance. Prior to 2000 the allocations are in the form of gross approved spending. 
		
	
	Revenue expenditure on transport is generally supported through the Department for Communities and Local Government's Formula Grant.
	In addition to this funding, the Government have made some funding available specifically to improve the provision of cycle parking. In 2009-10 and 2010-11, a total of £14 million is being provided by the Department to improve cycle facilities at rail stations, including the provision of 10,000 extra cycle parking spaces. A further £62.7 million has been committed between 2005-06 and 2010-11 to provide cycling infrastructure in 17 English towns and cities, as part of the Department's Cycling Towns initiative.
	The Department published a new action plan to improve lorry parking in England on 24 November 2009, available at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/freight/road
	The action plan will help to raise standards at existing truck stops and tackle shortages of lorry parking facilities but retains the principle that the financing and delivery of lorry parking is for the private sector. DfT Circular 01/2008 on Policy on Service Areas and Other Roadside Facilities on Motorways and All-Purpose Trunk Roads in England includes information on the role that the Highways Agency has in lorry parking.

Floods: Cumbria

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what estimate he has made of  (a) the number of bridges and  (b) the length of highway damaged in the recent floods in Cumbria; what estimate he has made of the costs of repairing such damage; and if he will make a statement.

Sadiq Khan: Cumbria county council are the local highway authority for Cumbria. According to records held by Cumbria county council there are 1,764 bridges in Cumbria which are managed by the authority, of which 1,240 are over or near water. Other bridges in Cumbria will be the responsibility of other bodies.
	The Prime Minister announced on 25 November 2009 that the Government will provide funding to Cumbria county council to assist them to carry out repairs to their bridges and roads damaged by the recent floods. Surveys of all damage will be required before it will be possible to estimate the cost of the damage to the local highway network in Cumbria. The flood water will need to recede before all surveys can be carried out. The Department for Transport will work with Cumbria county council to assist them to estimate the cost of the damage to their highway network.
	The Ministry of Defence and the Department have worked together to finalise arrangements for a temporary bridge at Workington over the River Derwent. The Department will provide funding for other temporary bridges as and when required by Cumbria county council.
	The Highways Agency is the highway authority for trunk roads and motorways in England and has inspected 92 roads over water bridges and three retaining walls on its road network in Cumbria, following the floods. No structural faults were found during those inspections. Further assessments of these structures and earthwork embankments near watercourses in Cumbria, will be made over the coming days.
	The structural integrity of the remainder of the trunk road and motorway network in Cumbria was not affected by the floods. However, in the interests of safety for the travelling public, the network is being monitored daily.

Invalid Vehicles: Insurance

Mark Harper: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent estimate he has made of the number of individuals who own mobility scooters who have purchased insurance policies for their vehicles.

Sadiq Khan: The Department for Transport strongly recommends that mobility scooter users take out insurance. A survey performed for the Department in 2005 suggested that around 72 per cent. of them do so.
	Recent estimates from the national travel survey suggest that there could be 316,000 of these vehicles in the UK, so therefore somewhat over 200,000 of these individuals might be expected to be covered by some form of insurance.

KBR

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport whether his Department has entered into any contracts with Kellogg, Brown and Root or its subsidiaries since January 2009.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport does not hold this information centrally and it could be provided only by incurring disproportionate cost due to the very many number of subsidiaries that Kellogg, Brown and Root have.

London City Airport

James Brokenshire: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent estimate he has made of the likely change in the number of  (a) aircraft movements and  (b) passengers at London City Airport in the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport's latest published forecasts of aircraft movements and terminal passenger numbers at airports in the UK are presented in "UK Air Passenger Demand and CO2 Forecasts", January 2009. This is available at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/aviation/atf/co2forecasts09/
	The Department's latest forecasts of air transport movements are given in table G8, page 141 of "UK Air Passenger Demand and CO2 Forecasts". The central estimate for the number of air transport movements at London City airport in 2015 is 92,000 an increase of 28,000, or 44 per cent., over the 2010 estimate.
	The Department's latest forecasts for airport terminal passengers are given in table G3, page 135 of "UK Air Passenger Demand and CO2 Forecasts". The central estimate from the Department's forecasts for the number of passengers using London City airport in 2015 is 3.7 million passengers per annum (mppa), an increase of 1.4 million passengers, or 68 per cent., over the 2010 estimate.
	The above estimates only include scheduled passenger services. The Department has not modelled unscheduled business jet charters and air taxis at London City airport. The model currently underestimates scheduled air traffic movements at London City airport. Table 2.4, page 34 of "UK Air Passenger Demand and CO2 Forecasts" provides a comparison of modelled and actual air transport movements. For larger airports, such as Heathrow and Gatwick, modelled and actual figures are within a couple of per cent. of each other. Moreover, the forecasts in "UK Air Passenger Demand and CO2 Forecasts" fulfil their intended purpose-to inform and monitor long term strategic aviation policy. We currently expect to publish updated aviation forecasts in 2010.

London City Airport

James Brokenshire: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent representations he has received on aircraft noise at London City Airport.

Paul Clark: No formal representations have been received on aircraft noise at London City airport. However early next year, the airport will be required to submit a draft strategic noise action plan to the Secretary of State for consideration for formal adoption under the European Environmental Noise Directive (2002/49/EC). If the requirements are met, the Secretary of State for Transport will recommend to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs that the action plan should be adopted. The airport is currently conducting a public consultation on its draft noise action plan. This consultation closes on 15 January 2010.

London City Airport

James Brokenshire: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the level of noise nuisance arising from aircraft using London City Airport; and what changes in that level have been recorded in the last 10 years.

Paul Clark: Responsibility for monitoring the noise levels of aircraft operating at London City airport rests with the airport operator. Under local planning agreements with the London borough of Newham, the airport is required to produce noise exposure contours on an annual basis. These are published on the London City airport consultative committee's website.

London City Airport

James Brokenshire: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many  (a) jet and  (b) propeller aircraft (i) arrivals and (ii) departures there have been at London City Airport in each of the last 10 years.

Paul Clark: The following tables show the number of jet and propeller aircraft arriving and departing London City airport from 1999 to 2008:
	
		
			  (i) Air transport movements: Arrivals 
			  Number 
			   Jets  Propellers  Total 
			 1999 8,993 11,746 20,739 
			 2000 8,049 16,460 24,509 
			 2001 7,769 19,123 26,892 
			 2002 6,552 19,932 26,484 
			 2003 6,227 17,800 24,027 
			 2004 7,469 19,134 26,603 
			 2005 10,907 19,448 30,355 
			 2006 12,358 20,728 33,086 
			 2007 19,163 19,475 38,638 
			 2008 24,502 17,514 42,016 
			 Total 111,989 181,360 293,349 
		
	
	
		
			  (ii) Air transport movements: Departures 
			  Number 
			   Jets  Propellers  Total 
			 1999 8,988 11,758 20,746 
			 2000 8,033 16,462 24,495 
			 2001 7,749 19,122 26,871 
			 2002 6,537 19,935 26,472 
			 2003 6,205 17,787 23,992 
			 2004 7,465 19,131 26,596 
			 2005 10,892 19,446 30,338 
			 2006 12,336 20,707 33,043 
			 2007 19,180 19,456 38,636 
			 2008 24,560 17,498 42,058 
			 Total 111,945 181,302 293,247 
			  Source: Civil Aviation Authority.

London City Airport

James Brokenshire: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport whether his Department has had discussions with the London Borough of Newham in connection with proposals to increase aircraft movements at London City Airport.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport has not had any such discussions.

M6: Walsall

David Winnick: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer of 24 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 60-1W, when the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency plans to visit the sites in Walsall Borough, where the work on the M6 motorway is being undertaken, Department for Transport reference 0048 004909/10.

Chris Mole: The chief executive of the Highways Agency is planning to visit the Managed Motorway works on the M6 within the next three weeks. A firm date has yet to be finalised and my hon. Friend will be notified when this is confirmed.

Public Transport: Crimes of Violence

Damian Green: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many incidents of violence and abuse on public transport in  (a) Ashford and  (b) Kent have been reported in each of the last five years; and what steps he is taking to reduce the number of such incidents.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport does not hold records of crime on public transport. Details of crime on the railways can be obtained from the British Transport police at 25 Camden road, London, NW1 9LN, e-mail
	parliament@btp.pnn.police.uk
	We are committed to improving the personal security of passengers on public transport. For example, new rail franchises now specify minimum levels of investment in public safety and we are encouraging Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships to work with the transport industry to help tackle transport crime.

Railway Network

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport which railway lines have been  (a) built and  (b) reopened in the last 20 years; how many jobs were created (i) directly during the first two years of construction, (ii) indirectly during the first two years of construction and (iii) overall on each project; and how much each project cost.

Chris Mole: The following railway lines were opened or reopened on the national network in the last 20 years:
	Paisley Canal Line
	Bridgend-Maesteg
	Manchester Airport Line
	Blackburn-Clitheroe (regular passenger services)
	Jewellery Line (Smethwick-Birmingham Snow Hill)
	Robin Hood Line
	Hednesford-Rugeley
	Walsall-Wolverhampton
	Heathrow Airport (Heathrow Express/Heathrow Connect)
	Brighouse Line
	Eastleigh to Romsey (via Chandlers Ford)
	Channel Tunnel rail link
	Vale of Glamorgan
	Larkhall Line
	Ebbw Vale Line
	Alloa Line
	Kettering to Corby.
	This list excludes freight only, London Underground, tramways, Docklands Light Railway, heritage and other independent railways.
	New and reopened lines in Scotland and Wales are included in this list even though for part of the period openings and re-openings have been a devolved matter.
	The Department for Transport does not hold information on the number of jobs created in each project or the cost of each project.

Railway Stations

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport which railway stations have been  (a) opened for the first time and  (b) reopened in the last 20 years; how many jobs were created (i) directly during the first two years of construction, (ii) indirectly during the first two years of construction and (iii) overall on each project; and how much each project cost.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport holds information only on the passenger stations that were opened and reopened in the last 15 years. These are as follows:
	Syston (1994)
	Sileby (1994)
	Barrow upon Soar (1994)
	Bulwell (1994)
	Cam and Dursley (1994)
	Langho (1994)
	Ramsgreave and Wilpshire (1994)
	Whalley (1994)
	Briton Ferry (1994)
	Wallyford (1994)
	Sanquar (1994)
	Llansamlet (1994)
	Pyle (1994)
	Skewen (1994)
	Ivybridge (1994)
	Prestwick International Airport (1994)
	Camelon (1994)
	Eastham Rake (1995)
	Digby and Sowton (1995)
	Willington (1995)
	Chafford Hundred (1995)
	Jewellery Quarter (1995)
	The Hawthorns (1995)
	Smethwick Galton Bridge (1995)
	Sutton Parkway (1995)
	Mansfield Woodhouse (1995)
	Mansfield (1995)
	Yarm (1996)
	Filton Abbey Wood (1996)
	Baglan (1996)
	Kirby in Ashfield (1996)
	Ashchurch for Tewkesbury (1997)
	Rugeley Town (1997)
	Euxton Balshaw Lane (1997)
	Brunswick (1998)
	Dalgety Bay (1998)
	Drumfrochar (1998)
	Whitwell (1998)
	Creswell (1998)
	Langwith-Whaley Thorns (1998)
	Shirebrook (1998)
	Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3 (1998)
	Heathrow Terminal 4 (1998)
	Conway Park (1998)
	West Brompton (1999)
	Horwich Parkway (1999)
	Braintree Freeport (1999)
	Luton Airport Parkway (1999)
	Dunfermline Queen Margaret (2000)
	Brighouse (2000)
	Wavertree Technology Park (2000)
	Lea Green (2000)
	Warwick Parkway (2000)
	Howwood (2001)
	Beauly (2002)
	Newcraighall (2002)
	Brunstane (2002)
	Edinburgh Park (2003)
	Chandlers Ford (2003)
	Glasshoughton (2005)
	Gartcosh (2005)
	Rhoose Cardiff International Airport (2005)
	Llantwit Major (2005)
	Kelvindale (2005)
	Larkhall (2005)
	Merryton (2005)
	Chatelherault (2005)
	Liverpool South Parkway (2006)
	Coleshill Parkway (2007)
	St. Pancras International (2007)
	Ebbsfleet International (2007)
	Llanharan (2007)
	Ebbw Vale Parkway (2008)
	Newbridge (2008)
	Risca and Pontymister (2008)
	Rogerstone (2008)
	Alloa (2008)
	Heathrow Terminal 5 (2008)
	Mitcham Eastfields (2008)
	Llanhilleth (2008)
	Crosskeys (2008)
	Shepherds Bush (2008)
	Aylesbury Vale Parkway (2008)
	East Midlands Parkway (2009)
	Corby (2009)
	Laurencekirk (2009)
	Imperial Wharf (2009).
	New and reopened stations in Scotland and Wales are included in this list, even though for part of the period openings and re-openings have been a devolved matter.
	This list excludes London Underground, tramways, Docklands Light Railway and heritage and other independent railways.
	The Department for Transport does not hold information on the number of jobs created in each project and the cost of each project.

Railway Stations: Greater London

Justine Greening: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what improvement works on railway stations located within Greater London in  (a) wave one and  (b) wave two of the Access for All Strategy (i) have been completed, (ii) have been started but not completed and (iii) are scheduled to start (A) in 2009-10, (B) in 2010-11, (C) in 2011-12 and (D) from 2012-13 onwards.

Chris Mole: Stations in the programme were announced in three lists with indicative delivery time scales, but are now part of an integrated delivery plan which is a live document owned by Network Rail.
	There are 35 stations in London boroughs, representing a third of the total programme, and of these seven are completed and six are started on site. The remainder are at the design stage and I understand from Network Rail that seven are due to start on site in 2010-11, nine in 2011-12 and six from 2012-13 onwards. I therefore suggest that the hon. Member contact Network Rail's chief executive at the following address for a response to her questions:
	Iain Coucher
	Chief Executive
	Network Rail
	Kings Place
	90 York Way
	London N1 9AG

Railway Stations: Greater London

Justine Greening: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much funding has been  (a) allocated to and  (b) spent on each railway station located within Greater London as part of (i) wave one and (ii) wave two of the Access for All strategy in (A) 2006-07, (B) 2007-08 and (C) 2008-09; and how much funding has been allocated for each such station under each wave for each year from 2009-10 to 2012-13.

Chris Mole: Stations in the programme were announced in three lists with indicative delivery time scales but are now part of a detailed delivery plan which is a live document owned by Network Rail.
	There are 35 stations in London boroughs, representing a third of the total programme, included in the programme, and the current anticipated cost for these is £121.1 million and current funding spent is £49.3 million.
	Information on actual spend and future years' forecast spend for individual sites is held by Network Rail and not the Department for Transport. I suggest the hon. Member therefore contact Network Rail's chief executive at the following address for a response to her questions:
	Iain Coucher
	Chief Executive
	Network Rail
	Kings Place
	90 York Way
	London N1 9AG

Railway Stations: Greater London

Justine Greening: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport 
	(1)  which of the 150 stations which have been identified for improvement under the National Stations Improvement Plan are located within Greater London; and for which such stations improvement work  (a) has been completed,  (b) has been started but not completed,  (c) is scheduled to start in 2009-10,  (d) is scheduled to start in 2010-11,  (e) is scheduled to start in 2011-12 and  (f) is scheduled to start from 2012-13 onwards;
	(2)  how much of the planned expenditure under the National Stations Improvement Plan has been  (a) allocated and  (b) spent on each station located within Greater London in 2009-10; and how much has been allocated for each such station in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13 and (iv) 2013-14.

Chris Mole: This information is held by Network Rail as the owner and operator of the national rail network. The hon. Member should therefore contact Network Rail's chief executive at the following address for a response to her questions:
	Iain Coucher
	Chief Executive
	Network Rail
	Kings Place
	90 York Way
	London N1 9AG

Railways

Graham Brady: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport 
	(1)  if he will meet representatives of railway enthusiast groups to discuss the revision of official guidelines for railway enthusiasts for the purposes of  (a) increasing levels of access to and  (b) maintaining security at railway stations;
	(2)  if he will take steps to ensure that railway industry managers and staff are aware of official guidelines for railway enthusiasts, with particular reference to the guidelines on photography.

Chris Mole: Network Rail, many train operators and the British Transport police all have policies in place that recognise the security benefits that the presence of enthusiasts can bring to the railway. The Government, too, recognise this and believe that security measures at stations should not prevent enthusiasts from pursuing their legitimate interest. Responsibility for ensuring that staff are aware of these policies rests with train and station operators and police commanders.

Railways: East of England

David Ruffley: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many complaints National Express and its predecessors received in relation to rail services in East Anglia in each of the last 10 years.

Chris Mole: The Office of Rail Regulation is responsible for the publication of National Rail Trends which includes customer complaint statistics. National Rail Trends can be accessed from the Office of Rail Regulation website at:
	www.rail-reg.gov.uk
	Alternatively, the hon. Member may wish to contact the Office of Rail Regulation at the following address:
	The Office of Rail Regulation
	One Kemble Street
	London WC2B 4AN.

Railways: Electrification

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost  (a) per mile and  (b) in total of electrifying (i) the Great Western Line and (ii) the Midland Main Line.

Chris Mole: On 23 July the Department for Transport announced the electrification of the Great Western Main Line between London, Reading, Oxford, Newbury, Bristol, Cardiff and Swansea at an estimated cost of £1 billion, including contingency and optimism bias. The total length of track being electrified is around 640 single track miles, so the estimated cost is around £1.6 million per single track mile.
	On the Midland Main Line, a clear scope of electrification work and timescale for delivery has not yet been agreed, so the Department has not yet been able to make an estimate of the cost.

Railways: Electrification

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of jobs which would be created  (a) directly and  (b) indirectly as a result of the electrification of (i) the Great Western Line and (ii) the Midland Main Line.

Chris Mole: On 23 July the Department for Transport announced the electrification of the Great Western Main Line between London, Reading, Oxford, Newbury, Bristol, Cardiff and Swansea. Delivery of the scheme is a matter for Network Rail, and the number of jobs created will depend on the delivery mechanisms which they select. Until these are finalised, it is not possible to estimate the number of jobs which will be created.
	No decision has been made on whether to take forward the electrification of the Midland Main Line or, if it is taken forward, on the timescale for delivery or the delivery mechanisms. It is therefore not possible to estimate the number of jobs which would be created.

Railways: Kent

Ann Widdecombe: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport when he expects to make a decision on the future of the City Service from Ashford International via Maidstone East station.

Chris Mole: holding answer 30 November 2009
	 The December 2009 timetable seeks to make best use of the rail network in Kent and delivers wider benefits to communities across the network, primarily through the introduction of high speed services and the consequent freeing up of capacity to West Kent. There are no plans to reinstate the city services from Ashford International via Maidstone East.

Railways: Liverpool

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what the estimated cost is of building the Liverpool light rail network; and what estimate he has made of the number of jobs created  (a) directly and  (b) indirectly as a result.

Sadiq Khan: The Department for Transport has made no estimate of the costs and benefits of a light rail scheme in Liverpool as it has not received a proposal from the promoters. I would be happy to receive a fresh proposal for such a scheme but only if a viable funding package has been agreed.

Road Traffic: Tyne and Wear

Jim Cousins: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport with reference to the answer of 27 January 2009,  Official Report, column 303W, on Road Traffic: Tyne and Wear and of 4 November 2009,  Official Report, column 250W, on Transport: Tyne and Wear, when he expects to receive the report of the Tyne and Wear Transport Innovation Fund's work and outcomes; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

Sadiq Khan: holding answer 2 December 2009
	Tyne and Wear received pump priming funding from the Department's Transport Innovation Fund (TIF).
	While the Department discussed with Tyne and Wear authorities the option for providing further resources for the completion of a formal report on the outputs, it was concluded that a business case for TIF funding was unlikely to be supported.
	The Department has continued to work with the authorities in making full use of the outputs, including the Tyne and Wear model, an Urban Traffic Management Control system and Smarter Choices initiatives. These outcomes have informed the development of the Tyne and Wear authorities' transport policies, including Local Transport Plans and will inform the development of proposals resulting from the recently announced Delivering a Sustainable Transport System (DaSTS) Study.
	Further details are available on Tyne and Wear's People in Motion website at:
	http://www.tyneandwearltp.co.uk/core.nsf/a/ltp2_documents

Roads: Repair and Maintenance

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport with reference to the answer of 11 November 2009,  Official Report, column 370W, on roads: repair and maintenance, if he will publish the submission to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State setting out  (a) the (i) reasons and (ii) justifications for not providing the information requested in question 296881 and  (b) the estimated cost of providing the information requested, as required in accordance with section 7.28 of the Cabinet Office's Guide to Parliamentary Work.

Chris Mole: The information requested in parliamentary question 296881 asked for the benefit-cost ratios (BCRs) of all schemes in the targeted programme of improvements at programme entry and at present. The BCR data requested are not held centrally.
	The targeted programme of improvements (TPI) comprised 114 major road schemes of which 71 are now open for traffic. The schemes entered the programme at various times, 37 of them in July 1998. For the older, completed schemes, files have been put away into storage and would have to be retrieved at a cost of £20 per file. Extracting the relevant BCR information from the files and putting that information into context in terms of what assumptions were made when the BCR was calculated is not a straightforward task. To quote BCRs out of context would be misleading.
	It is not possible to estimate accurately how much it would cost to obtain the BCRs for all 114 schemes. It is thought likely that to retrieve and examine the files of one completed scheme would take around half a day at a cost of £260 (PB 5/6 Full Economic Cost rate). Further work would then be required to enable meaningful comparisons to be made between the present BCR and that calculated at programme entry.

Roads: Lincolnshire

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what proposals he has for  (a) improvements to the A160 and  (b) the resurfacing of the A180.

Chris Mole: It is proposed, subject to approval, to improve the A160 by upgrading the existing single carriageway sections to dual carriageway and by providing a free flow link eastbound from the A180 junction.
	There are no major resurfacing schemes planned for the A180 in the current works programme as the concrete carriageway is still in good condition. A resurfacing scheme from Barnetby to Croxton on the A180 has been identified in the four-year forward programme for 2010-14. Progression of this scheme to construction will depend on available funding and relative priorities at the time.
	The A180 carriageway will continue to be monitored and small works such as patching and concrete repairs will be carried out as and when required.

Rolling Stock

Justine Greening: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many of the 1,300 new carriages referred to in the 2007 Rail White Paper  (a) have been (i) ordered and (ii) delivered and  (b) are in use for each (A) train operating company and (B) line serving stations in Greater London.

Chris Mole: In the two years since publication of the 2007 Rail White Paper, 543 new carriages have been ordered. Of these 232 are already in service: 148 with London Midland on services operating on lines out of London Euston and 84 on Thameslink routes operated by First Capital Connect.
	We are currently in negotiations for a number of other procurements.

Rolling Stock

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2009,  Official Report, column 571W, on rolling stock, what percentage of the fuel consumed when running under the wires is attributable to the conveying of the diesel engine itself.

Chris Mole: The diesel engine is switched off and therefore will not consume any fuel under the wires.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Bingo: Closures

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many bingo clubs have closed in  (a) England and  (b) North East Cambridgeshire since 1 January 2008.

Dawn Butler: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated December 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning what estimate has been made of how many bingo clubs have closed in (a) England and (b) North East Cambridgeshire since 1 January 2008. (303642)
	Annual statistics on business births, deaths and survival are available from the ONS release on Business Demography at www.statistics.gov.uk. However, the industrial classification is not detailed enough to separately identify bingo clubs.

Biomedical Research

Paul Rowen: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what biomedical research into myalgic encephalomyelitis and xenotropic murine leukaemia virus-related virus is being undertaken.

David Lammy: The Medical Research Council (MRC) is one of the main agencies through which the Government support medical and clinical research. The MRC is an independent body which receives its grant in aid from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	In 2008-09 the MRC's total expenditure for research relating to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) amounted to £728,000. This supported four projects including a £164,000 research programme led by Dr. C Clark at Queen Mary College, London on the general and specific risk markers and preventive factors for chronic fatigue and irritable bowel syndromes. CFS/ME continues to be a strategic priority area for funding and the MRC remains committed to supporting scientific research into all aspects of CFS/ME including evaluations of treatments and studies into the biological basis of the condition.
	The MRC recently held a CFS/ME research workshop where the recent xenotropic murine leukaemia virus-related virus (XMRV) findings were among the items discussed. A note of the discussions will be published on the MRC website in due course.
	The MRC's National Institute for Medical Research are leading a programme on infection and replication of retroviruses (including XMRV). One study within the programme is looking at how XMRV reproduces in the cell, its interaction with host cell factors and how it subverts the host immune systems.

Digital Broadcasting: Fees and Charges

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with Ofcom on mandating fees and charges associated with wholesale connections across digital platforms.

Stephen Timms: I have regular contact with Ofcom on a range of matters but we have not recently discussed this specific issue.

Higher Education: Nursing

David Drew: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many places on nursing degree courses he estimates will need to be provided in each year when nursing becomes a degree entry profession, taking account of estimated drop-out rates.

Ann Keen: I have been asked to reply.
	The Department does not hold this information centrally. It is for local employers to decide what skill mix they need to deliver their services. Strategic health authorities, working with national health service organisations and education providers will be planning for and determining the future numbers of nurses they need, including the numbers of places on pre-registration nursing programmes they commission.

Manufacturing Industries: Closures

Mark Prisk: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of small and medium-sized enterprises in the manufacturing sector which have closed in each quarter since March 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Butler: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated December 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning what estimate has been made of the number of small and medium-sized enterprises in the manufacturing industry which have closed in each quarter since March 2008. (302138)
	Quarterly data on the closure of enterprises are not available. However, annual statistics on business births, deaths and survival are available from the ONS release on Business Demography at www.statistics.gov.uk. The table below contains counts of enterprise deaths in manufacturing in 2008.
	
		
			  Count of deaths of enterprises for 2008. Manufacturing, UK 
			  Employment  Number 
			 0-49 11,410 
			 50-249 105 
			 250+ 10 
			 Total 11,525

Post Office

Lorely Burt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how much subsidy the Government plan to provide to the Post Office after 2011.

Patrick McFadden: No decisions have been taken beyond the current settlement, but the Government are committed to supporting the non-commercial segment of the post office network beyond 2011 and are in regular dialogue with Post Office Ltd.

Post Office

Lorely Burt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many post office branches have closed since the completion of the Network Change Programme.

Patrick McFadden: I have asked Alan Cook, Managing Director of Post Office Ltd, to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.

Prince Madog

Julian Brazier: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills for how many days the research vessel Prince Madog was  (a) hired and  (b) used by organisations other than the Natural Environment Research Council in 2008-09; and what estimate has been made of the equivalent figures for (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11.

David Lammy: The research vessel Prince Madog is owned by a joint venture company, VT Ocean Sciences. Operational arrangements are a matter for the company.

Prince Madog

Julian Brazier: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what grant was made from the joint infrastructure fund to VT Ocean Sciences as a contribution towards the costs of the research vessel Prince Madog; and what such funding is expected to be provided in  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11.

David Lammy: The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) awarded one £2.8 million Joint Infrastructure Funding (JIF) grant in 1999 to contribute to the capital cost of the research vessel Prince Madog. NERC has not provided any other capital funding and there is no planned capital funding for the vessel.

Royal Mail: Industrial Disputes

Lorely Burt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent progress has been made in discussions between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union; and what assessment he has made of the likelihood of a final agreement being reached soon.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 2 December 2009
	We are pleased that the discussions between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union established by the agreement on 6 November are continuing. The detail of those discussions, however, is a confidential matter for both parties.
	The Government want to see a successful outcome to the discussions and welcome the appointment of Roger Poole (former Assistant General Secretary of NUPE and of UNISON and Chairman of the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland) to oversee the process. Both parties need to keep talking until an agreement is made on a way forward on the next phase of modernisation, which everyone accepts is vital for the company's future.

Royal Mail: Pay

Nigel Evans: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what mechanisms are in place for the Shareholder Executive to review the remuneration and benefits package of the Chief Executive of Royal Mail.

Patrick McFadden: Royal Mail's Remuneration Committee is responsible for the remuneration of the company's Executive Board members. As special shareholder, the Secretary of State's consent is required for any material changes to the Directors' remuneration. His approval is also required for the framework for short and long term bonuses but the final decision on bonus payments rests with the Committee. Details of the Directors' remuneration are set out annually in the company's Report and Accounts.

RRV James Cook

Julian Brazier: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate has been made of the cost of rectifying the problem of acoustic noise from the bow of the Natural Environment Research Council vessel RRV James Cook; and how many operational days are expected to be lost while corrective modifications are made.

David Lammy: The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) has not yet initiated a project to rectify the bow issue on the RRS James Cook. There is therefore no available estimate of the cost, or the time that would be lost while any modifications are made.

Scientists

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on how many occasions the Secretary of State has met  (a) the Government Chief Scientific Adviser and  (b) his Department's Chief Scientific Adviser in the course of his official duties in the last 12 months.

Patrick McFadden: My noble Friend the Secretary of State met the Government chief scientific adviser on 30 July and has met his Department's chief scientific adviser in the course of various departmental policy discussions over the last 12 months.

Unsolicited Goods and Services: Telephones

Martin Horwood: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department has taken to protect telecommunications customers from unsolicited telephone calls from companies claiming to be processing a refund and seeking to obtain bank account details for fraudulent purposes.

Stephen Timms: The Department for Trade and Industry introduced the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) scheme in 1999 under the Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy) Regulations, which were updated by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations in 2003. The TPS scheme currently has 15.4 million registered numbers and reports an 85 per cent. success rate in preventing unsolicited calls. The TPS scheme provides protection from unsolicited marketing calls after subscribers have been registered for 28 days or have previously notified the caller that they do not wish to receive such calls, which under Regulation 21 also applies to those who are not TPS registered. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has responsibility for the enforcement of the TPS scheme and considers complaints about breaches. Recipients of these types of calls are advised to be cautious about disclosing personal details without first checking to ensure that the call is genuine. Suspected fraudulent activity should be reported to the police.

TREASURY

Asset Protection Scheme

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department  (a) has spent and  (b) has committed to spend on external advice on the Asset Protection Scheme in respect of (i) Royal Bank of Scotland and (ii) Lloyds Banking Group; and if he will list the sources of that advice.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: holding answer 2 December 2009
	Lloyds and RBS have agreed to refund HM Treasury the costs it incurs in establishing and operating the Asset Protection Scheme, including those of external advisers.
	When it decided not to participate in the scheme on 3 November, Lloyds agreed to pay HM Treasury £26 million, its share of the costs to that date of HM Treasury's own staff working on the APS, the costs of external advisers and the costs of establishing the Asset Protection Agency.
	RBS has paid the Treasury £45 million, being the Treasury's current estimate of RBS' share of the costs to date incurred by the Treasury in developing and setting up the APS and the APA.
	HM Treasury has received legal advice from Slaughters and May and financial advice from Ernst and Young, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Blackrock. The cost to the Treasury of these advisers has been fully met by Lloyds and RBS.

Bank of England: Loans

Dai Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what loans of over £1 billion were made by the Bank of England in the 2008-09 financial year.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Operational details are a matter for the Bank of England.

Bank Services: Fees and Charges

Nigel Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people who paid overdraft charges between July 2007 and the date of the Supreme Court's ruling on the powers of the Office of Fair Trading to determine the fairness of such changes.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Treasury does not collect these data.

Banks: Government Assistance

Peter Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of each signed share subscription agreement between his Department and each bank in respect of public funds.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: holding answer 30 November 2009
	The placing and open offer agreements, and preference share subscription agreements, for the recapitalisation of RBS, HBOS and Lloyds were deposited in the Libraries of both Houses of Parliament on 18 November 2008.
	I have today placed copies of the placing and open offer agreements relating to the redemption of the Government's preference share holdings in RBS and Lloyds, dated 19 January 2009 (RBS) and 7 March 2009 (Lloyds), in the Libraries.
	In addition I have today placed copies of the documents relating to the Government's upcoming subscription to Lloyds' rights issue, and to Lloyds' withdrawal from the Asset Protection Scheme (APS), in the Libraries. These are dated 2 and 3 November 2009.
	I have also today placed copies of all legal documentation associated with RBS's participation in the APS in the Libraries, subject only to any necessary redactions to protect commercial interests.

Banks: Loans

Dai Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the auditors of the accounts of the Bank of England for 2008-09 were informed of the loan to  (a) RBS and  (b) HBOS made in October 2008.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Bank's auditors were made aware of the emergency liquidity assistance to RBS and HBOS prior to the commencement of their audit of the Bank's accounts for the year to 28 February 2009.
	The relevant Bank of England Annual Report can be accessed via:
	http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/annualreport/index.htm

Banks: Loans

Dai Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Court of Directors of the Bank of England was informed of the loan made to  (a) RBS and  (b) HBOS in October 2008.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Court of the Bank, acting through its Transactions Committee, was consulted in a number of meetings between 1 October and 13 October 2008.

Banks: Loans

Dai Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what requirements there are on the Bank of England in respect of disclosure of information on loans made in each financial year, with particular reference to the bank's annual report and accounts.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Bank's financial statements for the year ended 28 February 2009 (and in earlier years) state that where the Bank acts as a lender of last resort, the financial effects of such operations will be included in the financial statements in the year in which they occur although these financial statements may not explicitly identify the existence of such support. This was the case for the year ending 28 February 2009. The Bank's auditors confirmed that the financial statements for the year were properly prepared in accordance with the stated basis of preparation set out in the notes to the accounts.
	The relevant Bank of England annual report can be accessed via:
	http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/annualreport/index.htm

Defence Training College

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Major Projects Review Group plans to publish its conclusions on the Defence Technical College proposals at St. Athan.

Ian Pearson: It is not normal practice for Major Projects Review Group information to be made public.

Departmental Buildings

Phil Willis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many residential properties his Department owns; and how many  (a) are occupied and  (b) have been empty for more than six months.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer the then Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury gave to the hon. Member for St. Albans (Anne Main) on 11 March 2008,  Official Report, column 364W.

Departmental Information Officers

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many full-time equivalent press officers  (a) are employed by and  (b) work for his Department.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Nine full-time equivalent press officers are employed by HM Treasury, as well as one FTE working under contract to cover a vacant full-time post.

EU Law

Gregory Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what  (a) statutory instruments and  (b) other regulations his Department has brought forward in the 2005 Parliament to meet obligations arising from EU law.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Financial Services

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of  (a) adults and  (b) households that do not use any financial services.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: On 19 October the Financial Inclusion Taskforce published its fourth annual report on access to banking. The taskforce used data from the Family Resources Survey to estimate that around 890,000 adults living in 690,000 households do not have access to either a banking or a saving account. Of these, 590,000 adults have a Post Office card account, which enables them to receive benefits directly.

Government: Assets

Colin Challen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the monetary value is of the equity stake held by the Government in each financial institution recapitalised from the public purse.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: As disclosed in UKFI's Annual Report, the Government currently hold 39,645 million ordinary shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland, equivalent to 70 per cent. of voting share capital. The total price at purchase of this investment was a net £20 billion. In connection with the asset protection scheme, the Government shareholding is due to increase by up to an additional 51,000 million non-voting B shares at a price of 50p per share.
	The Government currently hold 11,799 million ordinary shares in the Lloyds Banking Group, equivalent to 43 per cent. of voting share capital. The total price at purchase of this investment was a net £14.5 billion. The Government have announced that they will take up their share of the forthcoming Rights Issue, increasing their shareholding by an additional 15,810 million ordinary shares at a price of 37p per share.

National Insurance Contributions: Foreign Workers

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether  (a) employee and  (b) employer national insurance contributions are payable in respect of intra-company transferees under Tier Two of the points-based immigration system with work permits which state that the transferees intend to spend less than two years in the UK.

Stephen Timms: Intra company transferees and their employers (or if their employer is overseas, their host employers) pay National Insurance in the UK. There are exceptions where:
	1. The employee is entitled to exception from national insurance under European Community Regulations 1408/71 that operate within the European economic area and Switzerland, or under a bi-lateral social security agreement with another country; or
	2. The employee comes from outside the European economic area, Switzerland, or a bi-lateral social security agreement country and falls within the 52 week exception in Regulation 145(2) Social Security Contributions Regulations 2001, that applies to certain seconded workers who are not ordinarily resident in the UK.

Revenue and Customs

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what improvement programmes were in operation at HM Revenue and Customs in  (a) 2006,  (b) 2007,  (c) 2008 and  (d) 2009; how much each has cost; how much each programme has spent on external consultants; and which official of HM Revenue and Customs had oversight of each programme.

Stephen Timms: Since 2006, HM Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) major change and improvement programmes have been delivered through the Department's investment portfolio known as the 'Departmental Transformation Programme'. Total expenditure, including consultancy, on these programmes is set out in the table.
	The successful delivery of a change portfolio of the scale and complexity of HMRC's Departmental Transformation Programme depends critically on suitably skilled project management personnel as well as specialists in niche areas, e.g. data security and commercial banking. Where HMRC staff with the necessary skills and experience are not available, the Department will employ, through its commercial frameworks, external contractors and consultants to ensure successful programme delivery.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 (forecast at November 2009) 
			  Programmes  Total  Consultancy  Total  Consultancy  Total  Consultancy  Total  Consultancy 
			 Agents and Employers - - - - 1.2 0.5 - - 
			 Business Intelligence 40.0 0.6 - - - - - - 
			 Business.gov - - 21.0 - 35.4 - 35.8 - 
			 Capability Review - - - - 3.5 3.2 0.7 0.5 
			 Carter (previously Online Services) 23.0 6.3 84.7 0.9 89.2 0.7 74.2 1.0 
			 Compliance and Enforcement 71.9 13.8 59.3 8.0 87.3 6.1 67.1 1.8 
			 Compliance and Enforcement-Debt Management - - - - - - 6.4 - 
			 Construction Industry Scheme 34.0 1.0 6.8 0.2 0.6 - - - 
			 Customer Contact 43.0 9.8 3.8 0.7 - - - - 
			 Customer Foundations 6.0 3.5 - - - - - - 
			 Customer Interactions - - - - 8.7 4.2 - - 
			 Customs Service Transformation 5.0 2.4 13.9 2.5 25.3 2.9 25.4 1.6 
			 Data Quality 12.0 7.6 - - - - - - 
			 Data Security - - - - 43.9 2.1 18.7 1.7 
			 Direct Debits - - - - 3.4 - - - 
			 Enterprise Infrastructure/Disaster Recovery 19.0 0.2 8.5 0.9 19.2 1.1 - - 
			 ERP Shared Services - - - - 4.7 0.2 - - 
			 Estates Consolidation 14.0 - 31.3 - 38.6 - 22.1 - 
			 Estates Transformation - - 2.7 - 3.1 - - - 
			 e-Sourcing - - 0.7 0.4 1.7 0.6 - - 
			 Government Banking 1.0 - 12.6 4.9 22.1 8.2 17.4 11.1 
			 Human Resources initiatives 4.0 0.3 - - - - - - 
			 Information Technology (Desktop upgrade) 52.0 1.9 - - - - - - 
			 Integrated Customer Management 1.0 - - - - - - - 
			 Joint Working DWP/Transform Government 1.0 - - - - - - - 
			 Northgate-transfer of payroll to HMRC - - 3.9 - 1.4 - - - 
			 Pacesetter (all programmes) - - - - 5.9 4.8 11.9 7.9 
			 PAYE(MPPC) 27.0 0.2 63.8 0.4 73.6 9.0 43.4 7.2 
			 Pensions Simplification 14.0 0.4 5.1 - - - - - 
			 People, Culture and Skills 9.0 0.3 -  - - - - 
			 PAYE Improvement Group - - - - 0.1 - - - 
			 Performance Management Framework - - 0.9 - 0.8 0.7 0.4 0.1 
			 Policy Development Programme 19.0 0.5 - - 34.9 4.5 42.8 2.2 
			 Processing Pacesetter 18.0 10.3 12.3 2.7 6.1 0.7 - - 
			 Strategic Investment 3.0 1.2 - - - - - - 
			 Tax Credits 1.0 0.3 8.9 0.8 14.1 0.9 10.7 - 
			 Taxpayer Understanding - - 2.0 1.9 0.0 - - - 
			 Transform Debt Managements. Banking 6.0 0.8 15.1 0.8 - - - - 
			 Web Convergence - - 4.4 3.1 - - - - 
			 Workforce Change - - - - 65.9 - - - 
			 HMRC overheads(1) 5.5 - 12.2 - 3.6 - 4.2 - 
			 IT service line charges(1) - - 47.5 - 53.2 - 60.0 - 
			 Total 429.4 61.5 421.4 28.2 647.5 50.6 441.2 35.2 
			 (1) These items represent expenditure commitments funded though the DTP and are not formal delivery programmes. 
		
	
	The HMRC Senior Responsible Owners for each of the programmes in delivery during 2009-10 are as follows:
	
		
			  Programme  Senior responsible owner 
			 Business.gov Stephen Banyard 
			 Capability Review Steve Lamey 
			 Carter Stephen Banyard 
			 Compliance and Enforcement Mike Eland 
			 Customs Service Transformation Mike Norgrove 
			 Data Security Mary Aiston 
			 Debt Management and Banking Nick Lodge 
			 Estates Consolidation Paul King 
			 Government Banking Dave Hartnett 
			 Method of Payments Jon Fundrey 
			 MPPC (PAYE) Bemadette Kenny 
			 PaceSetter-Benefits and Credits Richard Summersgill 
			 PaceSetter-Business Tax Theresa Hobson-Frohock 
			 PaceSetter-Charity, Assets and Residence Charles Hall 
			 PaceSetter-Customer Contact Theresa Middleton 
			 PaceSetter-Chief People Office function Cathy Wilcher (to end-November 2009) 
			 PaceSetter-Corporate Shared Services Cathy Wilcher (to end-November 2009) 
			 PaceSetter-Customer Operations Simon Smith 
			 PaceSetter-Debt Management and Banking Nick Lodge 
			 PaceSetter-Enforcement and Compliance Mike Eland 
			 PaceSetter-HMRC Central Alison McDonald 
			 Performance Management Framework Mary Aiston 
			 Policy Programme Peter Michael 
			 Tax Credits Steve Lowthian

Scientists

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions he has met the Government Chief Scientific Adviser in the course of his official duties in the last 12 months.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Taxation: Gaming

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made on his Department's consultation on gross profits tax in respect of adult gaming centres.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Government issued a consultation on the future of gaming machine taxation on 16 July. The consultation period formally closed on 23 October. The responses received during the consultation are currently being analysed and reviewed by officials. No decisions will be taken on the future of gaming machines taxation until this analysis is complete.

VAT: Northern Ireland

Mark Durkan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the revenue which accrued to the Exchequer in value added tax (VAT) from VAT-registered businesses in each constituency in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years.

Stephen Timms: The information requested is not available. Although HM Revenue and Customs holds data on the place of registration by trader this has not been analysed by constituency. The address of registration is not necessarily the same as the location the trader will be operating from, for example a chain would only have one VAT registration covering all its branches, so would be unreliable for identifying the VAT accrued in that constituency.

Winter Fuel Payments: Income Tax

David Howarth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many persons in receipt of winter fuel allowance pay income tax at the  (a) standard and  (b) higher rate.

Stephen Timms: The information requested is not available. However, winter fuel payments are paid to most people aged 60 and over, and the estimated number of income taxpayers for 2009-10 in this age group is 6.4 million, of which 6.0 million pay income tax at the basic rate or starting rate on savings income and 0.4 million pay income tax at the higher rate.

Working Tax Credit

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of enabling recipients of the childcare element of working tax credit to continue to receive it for 12 weeks following redundancy; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many unemployed people claimed the childcare element of working tax credit in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to the hon. Member on 1 December 2009,  Official Report, column 604W.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Audit Commission: Public Relations

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Ruislip-Northwood of 1 December 2009,  Official Report, column 640W, on Audit Commission: public relations, what the  (a) nature and  (b) purpose was of the work entitled (i) one off project fee of 10 June 2009, (ii) Connect fee as agreed of 12 June 2009 and (iii) each Connect fee of 14 September 2009.

Rosie Winterton: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission, and I will ask the chief executive of the Audit Commission to write to the hon. Member direct.
	 Letter from Steve Bundred, dated 7 December 2009:
	The nature and purpose of the work paid for on 10 June 2009 was to provide an informed analysis of changes in departmental portfolios and policies following the reshuffle of government ministers, of possible changes in the machinery of government, and of responses by Opposition parties in the House of Commons and House of Lords.
	The purpose of the work paid for on 12 June 2009 was to update our parliamentary database (held for the purposes of supplying MPs with reports and studies relevant to their known interests and their constituencies); to update our records of where prospective candidates had been selected; and to provide informed commentary on the potential electoral effects of the controversy over MPs expenses.
	The purpose of the work paid for on 14 September 2009 was to provide further updates on parliamentary constituencies where MPs had announced they were standing down at the next general election; a briefing on changes in the electoral and policy landscape in the run-up to the general election; and analysis of policy commitments made by the parties on regulation, audit, inspection, local government spending and other subjects relative to the Commission's work.
	A copy of this letter will be placed in Hansard.

Audit Commission: Public Relations

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Ruislip-Northwood of 1 December 2009,  Official Report, column 640W, on the Audit Commission: public relations, if he will place in the Library a copy of the  (a) analysis and overview of the local election results and  (b) public affairs strategy that was produced for the Audit Commission by Connect Public Affairs.

Rosie Winterton: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission, and I will ask the chief executive of the Audit Commission to write to the hon. Member direct.
	 Letter from Steve Bundred, dated 7 December 2009:
	 Parliamentary Question: to ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer to the hon. Member for Ruislip-Northwood of 1 December 2009, Official Report, column 640W, on Audit Commission: public relations, if he will place in the Library a copy of the (a) analysis and overview of the local election results and (b) public affairs strategy that was produced for the Audit Commission by Connect Public Affairs.
	Your Parliamentary Question outlined above has been passed to me to reply.
	Copies of the following documents produced by Connect Public Affairs for the Audit Commission have been placed in the library:
	Local election analysis
	Public affairs strategy
	A copy of this letter will be placed in Hansard.

Audit Commission: Public Relations

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Ruislip-Northwood of 1 December 2009,  Official Report, column 640W, on the Audit Commission: public relations, which key prospective parliamentary candidates were identified by Connect Public Affairs for the Audit Commission; and what action the Audit Commission or Connect took in relation to those individuals after their identification.

Rosie Winterton: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission, and I will ask the chief executive of the Audit Commission to write to the hon. Member direct.
	 Letter from Steve Bundred, dated 7 December 2009:
	 Parliamentary Question: with reference to the Answer to the hon. Member for Ruislip-Northwood of 1 December 2009, Official Report, column 640W, on Audit Commission: public relations, which key prospective parliamentary candidates were identified by Connect Public Affairs for the Audit Commission; and what action the Audit Commission or Connect took in relation to those individuals after their identification.
	Your Parliamentary Question outlined above has been passed to me to reply.
	The Audit Commission asked Connect Public Affairs to produce a list and analysis of the known interests of prospective parliamentary candidates of all parties.
	Candidates are an important group of users of the rich local detail contained in Comprehensive Area Assessment. The Audit Commission is using this work to disseminate details of area assessments to those who have declared they are standing at the next general election.
	The Audit Commission has not asked Connect Public Affairs to lobby or communicate with prospective parliamentary candidates on its behalf. Connect was asked to carry out research, for example providing contact details, to ensure the Commission's data records were as accurate as possible.
	A copy of this letter will be placed in Hansard.

Audit Commission: Public Relations

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Ruislip-Northwood of 1 December 2009,  Official Report, column 640W, on the Audit Commission: public relations, what the purpose was of the public affairs work entitled CPA Conservative Shadow Cabinet; and what the work entailed.

Rosie Winterton: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission, and I will ask the chief executive of the Audit Commission to write to the hon. Member direct.
	 Letter from Steve Bundred, dated 7 December 2009:
	 Parliamentary Question: with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Ruislip-Northwood of 1 December 2009, Official Report, column 640W, on Audit Commission: public relations, what the purpose was of the public affairs work entitled CPA Conservative Shadow Cabinet; and what the work entailed.
	Your Parliamentary Question outlined above has been passed to me to reply.
	Ministers, their shadows, MPs and elected members in local government are among the important users of the information and place analysis contained in the new Comprehensive Area Assessment. To identify them and plan effective communications to them, the Audit Commission asked Connect Public Affairs to use its expert knowledge to draw up a 'perceptions and influence map'.
	It lists those who are likely to take an interest in Comprehensive Area Assessment and those to whom further information might be of use and of interest, so allowing the Audit Commission to target its spending on dissemination of reports, assessments and analyses more effectively.
	A copy of this letter will be placed in Hansard.

Audit Commission: Public Relations

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Ruislip-Northwood of 1 December 2009,  Official Report, column 640W, on the Audit Commission: public relations, if he will make an assessment of the compliance of the Audit Commission's hiring of a public affairs firm to identify key prospective parliamentary candidates with the Cabinet Office's Propriety Guidance rules in respect of use of public relations consultancies or agencies.

Rosie Winterton: The Cabinet Office's Propriety Guidance does not apply to non-civil servants, so the Audit Commission is not required to comply with it.

Council Tax

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will increase the number of council tax bands.

Barbara Follett: The Government have no plans to increase the number of council tax bands.

Departmental Internet

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) page hits and  (b) visitors his Department's website received in 2008-09.

Barbara Follett: The Department's website received the following page hits and visitors in 2008-9:
	Page hits: 28,372,910
	Visitors: 3,334,213.

Departmental Security

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many security passes his Department has issued to contractors providing consultancy services in the last 12 months.

Barbara Follett: Over the last 12 months the Department for Communities and Local Government has issued 172 building passes to contractors and/or consultants working in Eland House. The Department does not separately distinguish passes issued to general contractors or consultants.

EU Law

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what  (a) statutory instruments and  (b) other regulations his Department has brought forward to meet obligations arising from EU law in the 2005 Parliament.

Barbara Follett: The Department has made the following statutory instruments to meet obligations arising from EU law in this Parliament.
	The Architects (Recognition of European Qualifications etc. and Saving and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/1331).
	The Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 (amended by S.I. 2007/991, 1669 and 3302, S.I. 2008/647, 2363 and S.I. 2009/1900).
	The Environmental Impact Assessment and Natural Habitats (Extraction of Minerals by Marine Dredging) (England and Northern Ireland) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/1067).
	The European Regional Development Fund (East of England Operational Programme) (Implementation) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/3624).
	The European Regional Development Fund (East Midlands Operational Programme) (Implementation) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/3625).
	The European Regional Development Fund (London Operational Programme) (Implementation) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/1342).
	The European Regional Development Fund (North East Operational Programme) (Implementation) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/3621).
	The European Regional Development Fund (North West Operational Programme) (Implementation) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/3622).
	The European Regional Development Fund (South East Operational Programme) (Implementation) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/3620).
	The European Regional Development Fund (South West Operational Programmes) (Implementation) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/3623).
	The European Regional Development Fund (West Midlands Operational Programme) (Implementation) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/3618).
	The European Regional Development Fund (Yorkshire and the Humber Operational Programme) (Implementation) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/3619).
	The Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/2263).
	The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/3295).
	The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/2093).
	The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Mineral Permissions and Amendment) (England) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/1556).
	The Planning (Hazardous Substances) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/1901).

Government Office for London

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what events the Government Office for London has hosted in each of the last five years; and what the cost was of hosting each such event.

Rosie Winterton: A list of events hosted or co-hosted by the Government Office for London in 2009-10 and 2008-09, including any costs occurred by the Office, is set out in the following table. Information relating to events held in preceding years is no longer held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			   Cost to the Government Office for London (£) 
			  Events in 2009-10  
			 'Together We Can Aim Higher'-youth opportunity funding conference (in association with DCSF) 11,200 
			 Future Jobs Fund: Potential Bidders Event 713 
			 DCSF 2-Year-Old Child Programme Knowledge Sharing Seminars 3,956 
			 Residential Burglary Seminar for London Local Authorities 39 
			 Resilience Multi Agency Risk Assessment Committee Seminar 18 
			 Early Years Capital Roadshow-highlighting DCSF programmes 182 
			 New Draft Safeguarding Statutory Guidance Seminar 1,200 
			 Sustainable Schools Event for London Boroughs 485 
			 Childcare Take-up and LAAs Seminar 3,687 
			 Vigilance national funding: Bidding Event 96 
			 Future Jobs Fund: Successful Bidders Event 232 
			 Future Jobs Fund: Successful Bidders Event 134 
			 Climate Change Projection in Practice Workshops (in association with DEFRA, Regional Climate Change Partnership, UKCIP) 0 
			 'Transforming Outcomes for Children and Young People Conference' (in association with London VCS, CYP Network, Partnership for Young London & Children England) 4,000 
			 London Young Mayors Conference (in association with 11 Million listening tour) 0 
			 Ofsted Serious Case Review Guidance Consultation Seminar 1,555 
			 Health of Looked After Children-emerging best practice report launch 12,000 
			 Parenting Outcomes Framework Launch 4,909 
			 Prevent in London DVD Launch 5,575 
			 DCSF 3/4 Year-old Child Programme Funding Seminar 1,796 
			 Sustainable Schools Event for Headteachers 320 
			 Childcare Sufficiency Seminars 345 
			 Climate Change Mitigation Event for Local Authorities (in association with Energy Saving Trust and London Councils) 750 
			 GOL London Reception 2009 4,783 
			 London Safeguarding Children Conference (in association with London Councils) 5,000 
			 Total 62,975 
			   
			  Events in 2008-09  
			 Getting Started with Sustainable Food Conference 2,000 
			 Cohesion & Prevent Group Meeting 201 
			 The London European Social Fund Story (in association with the LDA) 7,491 
			 Public Service Agreement 23 & 25: Celebrating the Sign Off of LAAs (in association with the Home Office) 309 
			 Celebrations at London's Successes: analysis of policing and community safety 341 
			 Climate Change Adaptation Seminar (in association with Defra, Regional Climate Change Partnership and UKCIP) 0 
			 Utilities Awareness Workshop (in association with London Fire Brigade and utility providers) 1,346 
			 Climate change mitigation event for local authorities (in association with Energy Saving Trust, London Councils and Carbon Trust) 0 
			 GOL London Reception 2008 4,863 
			 Sustainable Schools Event-London Sustainable Schools Forum 4,000 
			 International Domestic Violence Conference (in association with LB Croydon) 4,000 
			 Sustainable Schools Event for Head teacher's 350 
			 Sustainable Schools Event-Learning Seminar for Schools 1,075 
			 "What is Community Cohesion?" film launch 4,428 
			 Sustainable Schools Event-Learning Seminar for Schools 2,130 
			 Climate change flooding event for local authorities (in association with the Environment Agency) 0 
			 Prevent Conference 36,710 
			 London Prevent Network-promote good practise, training and peer support seminar 240 
			 Sustainable Schools Event-London Sustainable Schools Forum 2,654 
			 Climate change adaptation event for local authorities (in association with Defra) 0 
			 Total 72,338

Homes and Communities Agency: Harlow

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 24 November 2009,  Official Report, column 71W, on the Home and Communities Agency, how much the Homes and Communities Agency's predecessor bodies spent on acquiring the freehold to the Gateway site in Harlow; how much was spent on security for the site; and on what date the freehold was  (a) bought by that predecessor body and  (b) sold.

John Healey: It is not possible to provide a precise figure or date for the completion of the Gateway site. It was part of a larger acquisition carried out prior to 1959, which was itself part of the land assembly to support the creation of Harlow New Town. To determine the precise date and cost of the acquisition of the freehold of this site would represent a disproportionate cost.
	The Gateway site was disposed of in 2004 for the figure given in my previous answer. The freehold is being transferred on a plot by plot basis as units are completed. It has therefore been transferred on some of the land but not all.
	Nothing was spent by either the HCA or its predecessor bodies on security for the site.

Leasehold Valuation Tribunal

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many cases relating to the level of fees charged by private sheltered housing companies have been brought before the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal in 2009 to date.

Ian Austin: Leasehold Valuation tribunals have so far dealt with 18 cases in 2009 concerning the service charges of private sheltered housing companies.

Lichfield District Council: Finance

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent by Lichfield district council in each of the last four financial years; and what revenue the authority received from  (a) Government grants,  (b) council tax,  (c) non-domestic rates,  (d) the sale of assets and  (e) other sources in each of those years.

Barbara Follett: The information requested on expenditure and receipts is shown as follows.
	
		
			  Lichfield district council 
			  £000 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Revenue expenditure 12,353 12,603 12,507 13,656 
			  financed by: 
			 Government grants 3,709 2,713 2,979 2,197 
			 Redistributed non-domestic rates 2,711 4,853 5,019 5,241 
			 Council tax 5,413 5,817 6,21 6,431 
			 Other 520 -780 -1,612 -213 
			  
			 Capital expenditure 5,187 4,253 7,411 4,052 
			  financed by: 
			 Central Government grants 709 338 459 336 
			 Use of capital receipts 2,299 2,993 4,046 2,381 
			 Other 2,179 922 2,906 1,335 
			 Capital receipts in year 857 1,110 2,613 330 
			  Source: Communities and Local Government Revenue and Capital Outturn returns 
		
	
	Revenue expenditure figures are produced on a non Financial Reporting Standard 17 (FRS17) basis.
	Government grants within revenue expenditure are defined here as the sum of revenue support grant, area based grant and specific grants inside aggregate external finance (AEF) i.e. revenue grants paid for authorities' core services.
	"Other" within revenue expenditure financing includes: transfers and adjustments; appropriations to/from revenue reserves; collection fund surpluses/deficits; and community charge amounts transferred to/from collection fund.
	Local authority council tax requirement is the council tax available to finance revenue expenditure, not council tax collected.
	Revenue figures exclude grants outside AEF (i.e. where funding is not for authorities' core services but is passed to a third party e.g. rent allowances and rebates), funding for the local authorities' housing management responsibilities and those grant programmes (such as European funding) where authorities are simply one of the recipients of funding paid towards an area.
	Comparisons across years may not be valid owing to changing local authority responsibilities.
	"Other" within capital expenditure financing includes grants and contributions from outside government (e.g. private developers, national lottery), revenue financing and borrowing.

Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects to implement Part 6 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007.

Rosie Winterton: Our response, published on 27 October 2009, to the consultation paper 'The making and enforcement of byelaws' made clear our intention to implement the new regime for the making and enforcement of byelaws, which we are minded to do early in the new year.

Local Government Finance

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what percentage of the external finance in each local authority in England was generated from  (a) fees and charges,  (b) council tax and  (c) central Government funding in (i) 1992, (ii) 1997 and (iii) 2007;
	(2)  if he will rank each English London local authority in order of the percentage of total income generated from council tax in 2008-09.

Barbara Follett: I have today placed in the Library of the House a table that gives, by each local authority in England, the percentage of income generated from  (a) fees and charges,  (b) council tax and  (c) central Government funding in 2007-08.
	Estimates for 1992-93 and 1997-98 are not available as they could be made only at disproportionate cost.
	Information on some of the elements of total income required to produce estimates for 2008-09 has not yet been compiled.

Local Government: ICT

Peter Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will commission a report on the role of Liverpool Direct Ltd. in Liverpool city council's ICT strategy; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: This is a matter for Liverpool city council. Local authorities have a duty to secure continuous improvement in the way in which they exercise their functions, having regard to a combination of economy, effectiveness and efficiency.

Local Government: Procurement

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department publishes on local authority commissioning of goods and services; how many local authorities have been required under that guidance to tender for services being conducted in house, or by existing providers in the last 12 months.

Rosie Winterton: Guidance on securing positive outcomes and best value through commissioning was set out in paragraphs 6.4 to 6.17 of "Creating Strong, Safe and Prosperous Communities: Statutory Guidance" (Communities and Local Government, 9 July 2008). The guidance is available at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/strongsafeprosperous
	Information on how many authorities have tendered for services in the last 12 months is not held centrally.

Non-Domestic Rates

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 26 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 312-13W, on non-domestic rates, what the estimated net collectable debt in respect of non-domestic rates was for each local authority in the  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10 tax year.

Barbara Follett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 26 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 312-13W and in particular column 2 of the table that was placed in the Library of the House.

Parking: Fees and Charges

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what  (a) the total reserve in its Parking Places Revenue Account and  (b) the annual income from parking charges was of each local authority in each of the last five years.

Barbara Follett: I have today placed in the Library of the House a table that gives, by each local authority in England, the annual revenue raised by local authorities from all parking charges in each year from 2005-06 to 2008-09.
	Information about local authorities' Parking Places Revenue Account is not collected centrally.

Planning Permission: Appeals

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent guidelines his Department has issued to planning inspectors in respect of planning appeals.

Ian Austin: The Department has not recently issued any guidelines specifically to planning inspectors. In determining cases, planning inspectors must take account, where relevant, of Planning Policy statements and any associated material such as circulars and guidance issued by my Department. All such material is in the public domain.

Sheltered Housing

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the benefits to residents of sheltered accommodation of the provision of services by wardens who work a 34-hour week; and what assessment he has made of the likely effects on such residents of changes in the working patterns of such wardens.

Barbara Follett: There has been no central assessment of the benefits to residents of having warden services within sheltered accommodation. When reviewing services local authorities should take account of residents views on the services being provided and the benefits received. We expect every service user to have a full risk and needs assessment undertaken and an appropriate support plan put in place. It is a local decision as to how to best meet the needs identified.

Social Rented Housing: Equality

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many employment tribunal claims have been brought against  (a) local authorities and  (b) registered social landlords in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many cases have been brought against  (a) local authorities and  (b) registered social landlords in respect of alleged breaches of equalities legislation in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how many legal cases have been brought in respect of racial discrimination allegations against  (a) local authorities and  (b) registered social landlords in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Social Rented Housing: Regulation

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of local authority regulation of registered social landlords; what estimate he has made of the cost to local authorities of such regulation in 2008-09; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) in England are regulated by the Tenant Services Authority (TSA), the independent social housing regulator. Local authorities are not responsible for regulating RSLs.

Tenant Services Agency

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of  (a) setting up and  (b) operating for the first year the (i) Tenant Services Agency and (ii) the Homes and Communities Agency.

John Healey: The set up costs of the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and Tenant Services Authority (TSA) are set out in the Housing and Regeneration Bill-Impact Assessment, a copy of which is in the House Library
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/housingregenactimpactassess
	The running costs for both the HCA and the TSA can be found in the published financial statements for 2008-09.
	http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/annual-report-2009.htm
	and
	http://www.tenantservicesauthority.org/server/show/ConWebDoc.19672

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many outstanding asylum appeals there were on 1 November 2009.

Bridget Prentice: I have been asked to reply.
	The number of outstanding asylum appeals as of 1 November 2009 is as follows:
	
		
			   Number of cases 
			 Immigration Judge(1) 3,282 
			 High Court Review (Filter) Applications(2) 271 
			 Reconsiderations(3) 1,304 
			 Total Asylum Appeal cases outstanding 4,857 
			 (1) Initial appeal of Home Office decision. (2) The application to review whether a reconsideration of the case is appropriate because of an error of law (3) Reconsideration of case because of an error of law.

Asylum

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to which countries children seeking asylum aged  (a) 17,  (b) 12 to 16,  (c) five to 11 and  (d) under five years old have been deported in each year since 1997.

Alan Johnson: The requested information is not available prior to 2004; however, the following table shows the number of removals and voluntary departures of children asylum cases under the age of 18, including dependants, from the United Kingdom between 2004 and 2008, by age group and country of destination.
	The figures provided include children in family groups. Where they have been found by the UK Border Agency and the independent courts to have no basis of stay in the UK they are expected to leave the country or face an enforced removal. Wherever possible they are given the opportunity to make a voluntary departure. The UK Border Agency only consider returning an unaccompanied child with no legal right to remain in the UK to their country of origin if safe and adequate reception arrangements are in place.
	Published statistics on immigration and asylum are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
	
		
			  Removals and voluntary departures( 1,2)  of children asylum cases( 3) , by age group and type, 2004 to 2008 
			  Number of departures( 4) 
			   2004  2005  2006  2007  2008( 5) 
			 Enforced removals and notified voluntary departures(6,7) 1,050 1,400 1,035 570 505 
			  of which: under 5 years 435 500 375 220 175 
			 5 to 11 years 295 435 355 205 180 
			 12 to 16 years 205 330 230 115 120 
			 17 years 115 140 80 30 25 
			   
			 Assisted voluntary returns(8) 295 235 580 305 160 
			  of which: under 5 years 120 110 280 145 70 
			 5 to 11 years 100 65 190 95 50 
			 12 to 16 years 60 40 80 50 30 
			 17 years 20 20 30 15 10 
			   
			 Other voluntary departures(9) n/a * 30 35 60 
			  of which: under 5 years n/a * 5 5 10 
			 5 to 11 years  * 5 15 20 
			 12 to 16 years n/a * 5 10 20 
			 17 years n/a * 5 5 15 
			   
			 Total removals and voluntary departures 1,345 1,635 1,645 905 725 
			  of which: under 5 years 555 610 660 370 255 
			 5 to 11 years 395 500 555 310 250 
			 12 to 16 years 265 370 320 175 170 
			 17 years 135 155 110 50 50 
			 n/a = not applicable. (1) Figures are rounded to the nearest 5 (- = 0, * = 1 or 2) and may not sum to the totals shown because of independent rounding.  (2) Figures include dependants.  (3) This figure may overstate because some applicants aged 18 or over may claim to be younger on their date of departure from the UK.  (4) Removals and voluntary departures recorded on the system as at the dates on which the data extracts were taken.  (5 )Provisional figures. Figures will under record due to data cleansing and data matching exercises that take place after the extracts are taken.  (6) Due to a reclassification of removal categories, figures include asylum removals which have been performed by enforcement officers using port powers of removal and a small number of cases dealt with at juxtaposed controls.  (7 )Since October 2006, figures include persons leaving under facilitated return schemes.  (8) Persons leaving under assisted voluntary return programmes run by the International Organization for Migration. May include some cases leaving under the assisted voluntary return for irregular migrants programme and some cases where enforcement action had been initiated.  (9 )Since January 2005, persons who it has been established left the UK without informing the immigration authorities.

Asylum

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children from each country of origin aged  (a) 17,  (b) 12 to 16,  (c) five to 11 and  (d) under five years old have been refused asylum in each year since 1997.

Alan Johnson: Information on asylum refusals by age group and country of origin is not collated.
	Information on asylum is published annually and quarterly. Annual statistics for 2008 and the latest statistics for Q3 2009 are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html

Asylum

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children from each country of origin aged  (a) 17,  (b) 12 to 16,  (c) five to 11 and  (d) under five years old have claimed asylum in each year since 1997.

Alan Johnson: Information on asylum applications from principal applicants (since 2001) and dependants (since 2002) is only available by the published age categories at time of application and nationality. Information prior to these dates is not available.
	The figures are available from the annual Statistical Bulletin Asylum Statistics United Kingdom prior to 2008 and the supplementary tables of the Control of Immigration Bulletin 2008 for the year of 2008. Copies of these publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html

Crimes of Violence

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of grievous and actual bodily harm were recorded by police in  (a) England and  (b) North East Cambridgeshire in each of the last 10 years.

David Hanson: The Home Office does not hold data for the constituency area North East Cambridgeshire, as this does not correspond with a Crime and Disorder
	Reduction Partnership or Cambridgeshire Police Basic Command Unit.
	Data for grievous bodily harm (GBH) and actual bodily harm (ABH) offences for England for 1999-2000 to 2008-09 are given in Table A.
	There was a major change in police recorded crime recording in 2002 that means that figures from 2002-03 are not comparable with figures prior to this year.
	The introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in 2002 brought in a more victim-focused reporting system, where victim accounts had to be accepted unless there was credible evidence to the contrary. In its first year, this is estimated to have artificially increased recording of violence against the person by 23 per cent. (it is also thought to have increased figures in the following year as the standard bedded in but precise estimates of this effect are not available).
	From 1 April 2008 there were also changes in offence classification, introducing the new category of GBH without intent, and a clarification in the counting rules for GBH with intent which meant that in some forces there was a significant shift in recording away from ABH to GBH with intent. This means figures for 2008-09 are not comparable with those for earlier years.
	
		
			  Table A: Recorded crime for grievous bodily harm (GBH) and actual bodily harm (ABH) offences in England, 1999-2000 to 2008-09 
			   Offence  1999-20000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 GBH 5 More serious wounding or other act endangering life 13,835 14,452 15,202 16.113 17,746 17,801 17,045 15,667 13,596 - 
			  5A Inflicting grevious bodily hard (GBH) with intent - - - - - - - - - 21,253 
			  8F Inflicting grevious bodily harm (GBH) without intent - - - - - - - - - 16,170 
			  8H Racially or religiously aggravated inflicting grevious bodily harm without intent - - - - - - - - - 376 
			 ABH 8A Less serious wounding 189,441 185,312 198,418 320,157 401,917 458,372 486,052 454,638 406,251 - 
			  8D Racially or religiously aggravated less serious wounding 2,618 3,112 3,369 4,197 4,685 5,134 5,799 5,405 4,614 - 
			  8G Actually bodily harm and other injury - - - - - - - - - 351,550 
			  8J Racially or religiously aggravated actual bodily harm and other injury - - - - - - - - - 3,759 
			  Total GBH and ABH   205,894 202,876 216,989 340,467 424,348 481,307 508,896 475,710 424,461 393,108 
			  Notes: 1. There was a major change in police recorded crime recording in 2002 that means that figures from 2002-03 are not comparable with figures prior to this year. The introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in 2002 brought In a more victim-focused reporting system, where victim accounts had to be accepted unless there was credible evidence to the contrary. 2. Offence classifications 5A, 5B and 5C were introduced from 1 April 2008 and replace classification 5. Classification 5A was influenced by a clarification in recording rules that had the effect of significantly increasing levels of recording in some forces. Figures for 2008-09 for classification 5A should be viewed as provisional as a current inspection by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary may give rise to further revisions from forces. Classification 5A also includes some other offences of endangering life as well as GBH with intent, though GBH with intent is the major part of this category. 3. Offence classifications 8F, 8G, 8H, 8J and 8K were introduced from 1 April 2008 and had previously been recorded as part of classifications 8A or 8D.

Departmental Legislation

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criminal offences have been  (a) abolished and  (b) created by primary legislation sponsored by his Department since 1 May 2008.

Alan Johnson: The following new offences have been created since 1 May 2008:
	 Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008
	Failure to comply with a prohibition etc. in a violent offender order (section 113(1))
	Failure to comply with the notification requirements of a violent offender order (section 113(2))
	Notifying false information in purported compliance with a violent offender order (section 113(3))
	Remaining on or entering premises in contravention of a closure notice (section 118 and Schedule 20)
	Obstructing a person enforcing a closure notice or closure order etc. (section 11D(2))
	 Policing And Crime Act 2009
	Paying for sexual services of a prostitute subjected to force etc. (section 14)
	Paying for sexual services of a prostitute subjected to force etc. (section 15)
	Amendment to offence of loitering etc. for purposes of prostitution (section 16)
	Soliciting a person for purpose of obtaining sexual services (section 19)
	Soliciting a person for purpose of obtaining sexual services (section 20)
	Remaining on or entering premises in contravention of a closure notice (section 21 and Schedule 2)
	Remaining on or entering premises in contravention of a closure order (section 21 and Schedule 2)
	Obstructing a person enforcing a closure notice or closure order etc. (section 21 and Schedule 2)
	Person under 18: persistently possessing alcohol in a public place (section 30)
	Prohibition on importation of offensive weapons (section 102)
	 Borders, Citizenship And Immigration Act 2009
	Disclosure of personal customs information to certain persons (section 18(1))
	Disclosure of personal customs revenue information (section 18 (1))
	Disclosure of material information without appropriate consent (section 18(1))
	 Counter-Terrorism Act 2008
	Offence of obstruction (section 2)
	Offences relating to notification (section 54)
	Offences relating to information about members of armed forces etc. (section 76)
	Offences relating to breaches of a foreign travel restriction order (paragraph 15 of Schedule 5)
	Offences relating to HMT's provisions on terrorist financing and money laundering (paragraph 30 and 31 of Schedule 7)
	The following offences have been abolished since 1 May 2008:
	 Policing And Crime Act 2009
	Kerb-crawling (section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 1985)
	Persistent soliciting (section 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 1985)

Deportation

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been deported from the UK in the last five years.

Phil Woolas: The Home Office publishes statistics on the number of persons who were removed or departed voluntarily from the UK on a quarterly and annual basis, which are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
	Statistics on removals and voluntary departures, by type, in the last 10 years are provided in table 3.1 of the Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom 2008 bulletin at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/hosb1409.pdf
	Statistics for the first two quarters of 2009 are provided in table 7a/b/c of the Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical summary, April to June 2009 at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/immiq209.pdf
	Figures for the third quarter of 2009 will be published on 26 November 2009.

DNA: Databases

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the written ministerial statement of 11 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 25-28WS, on DNA and fingerprint retention, whether all those arrested and not charged under counter-terrorism legislation will have their DNA retained beyond the six-year limit.

David Hanson: DNA profiles and fingerprints taken from adults detained under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 or Schedule 7 to that Act will only be retained beyond six years if the relevant chief officer of police determines that it is necessary to do so for national security purposes.
	All cases will be reviewed on a rolling two year basis after the six year timeframe and the material will be destroyed when it is no longer necessary to retain it for those purposes.

Entry Clearances

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) leave to remain,  (b) indefinite leave to remain and  (c) student visa (tier four) applications have been refused in the last five years.

Phil Woolas: Statistics on leave to remain and indefinite leave to remain (settlement) applications refused for the last five complete years, 2004-08, are provided in the following table.
	Provisional calendar year totals for 2009 are due to be published in February 2010. The leave to remain refusals total for 2009 will include in-country applications from non-EEA students that have been considered and refused under tier 4 of the points-based system from 31 March 2009.
	Provisional leave to remain and indefinite leave to remain quarterly data for the first three quarters of 2009 were published on 26 November in the "Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summary, United Kingdom-Third Quarter 2009". Copies are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
	
		
			  Refusals of an extension of leave to remain( 1, 2 ) and refusals of settlement in the United Kingdom, excluding EEA( 3, 4 ) and Swiss nationals, 2004-08( 5) 
			  Number of refusals 
			   2004( 3)  2005  2006  2007( 4)  2008( 6) 
			  Main applicants  
			 Refusals of an extension 24,730 27,175 20,175 23,555 21,120 
			  Of which:  
			 Students 6,765 9,535 7,875 9,040 5,365 
			 Refusals of settlement 6,525 6,260 8,365 11,875 7,420 
			 Total main applicant refusals 31,250 33,435 28,540 35,435 28,540 
			  Dependants  
			 Refusals of an extension 2,885 4,130 3,110 4,500 5,165 
			  Of which:  
			 Students 950 1,405 1,355 1,895 1,395 
			 Refusals of settlement 810 750 1,445 1,605 1,925 
			 Total dependant refusals 3,695 4,875 4,555 6,105 7,090 
			 (1) Excludes asylum-related decisions and withdrawn applications. (2) Includes reconsideration cases and the outcome of appeals. (3) Includes nationals of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia before 1 May 2004, but excludes them from this date. (4) Since 2007, excludes Bulgaria and Romania who acceded to the EU on 1 January 2007. (5) Figures rounded to the nearest five and may not sum to the totals shown because of independent rounding. (6) Provisional figures.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will assess the financial effect on language schools teaching English as a foreign language of proposed reforms to Tier 4 of the points-based system.

Phil Woolas: The Prime Minister announced on 17 November 2009 that a review of tier 4, the student tier of the points based system, would be conducted by a joint team from the UK Border Agency and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills. The review team have been asked to assess whether the current tier 4 policy strikes the appropriate balance between facilitating access of genuine students to education in the UK and preventing abuse by economic migrants.
	The review is looking at evidence gathered from the early stages of tier 4, which was launched in March this year, to look at the case for or against any policy changes. The review will consider all of the available data and evidence, including the potential financial impact of the proposals on the different parts of the education sector such as the English language sector.

Entry Clearances: Skilled Workers

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) work permits with a length of more than 12 months and  (b) highly skilled migrant programme permits were issued in 2008-09.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 30 November 2009
	The UK Border Agency issued 60,305 work permits with a length of 12 months or more and 10,775 highly skilled migrant programme permits in the financial year 2008-09.
	Figures are rounded to nearest five.
	The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.

Extremism Unit: Finance

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department's Extremism Unit spent under each budget heading in  (a) 2007-08 and  (b) 2008-09.

David Hanson: Extremism may take many forms. As regards funding for OSCT Prevent this was spent as follows:
	
		
			  £million 
			   Actual admin. spend  Actual programme spend 
			 2007-08 0.92 1.71 
			 2008-09 2.30 27.02

Fixed Penalties

Nick Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance his Department has issued to police forces on the publication of information on the number of fixed penalty notices issued in respect of offences committed upon a particular part of the highway; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Decisions on the release of any information held by the police is a matter for individual chief officers of police.

Fixed Penalties

Nick Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ask South Wales Police Force to review its decision on publication of the number of fixed penalty notices issued for speeding in the 50mph limit area on the approach to the Severn Bridge toll booths on the M4.

David Hanson: Decisions on the release of any information held by the police is a matter for individual chief officers of police.
	Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, if the requester is not satisfied with the response that they have received from a police force, they have two options which they can follow:
	(a) ask the force to conduct an internal review of their decision and if they remain dissatisfied then
	(b) they should take the matter to the Information Commissioner.

Foreign Nationals: Convictions

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals who have been convicted in this country in each of the last five years were identified by a Government department or agency as having a criminal record in another country or countries  (a) on entry into the UK and  (b) on release from custody.

Phil Woolas: It is not possible to obtain the requested information.
	In the case of EU nationals there is a mechanism for the exchange of conviction information, operated under 2009 Framework Decision (previously conviction information was transferred under the Council of Europe arrangements, 1959).
	In the case of non-European countries there are arrangements via Interpol, which concentrate on more serious offences.

Identity Cards

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 12 November 2009,  Official Report, column 946W, on identity cards, what proportion of the 1,000 applications received has come from  (a) Identity and Passport Service and the Home Department staff and  (b) airport operator staff at Manchester and London City airports.

Alan Johnson: Since 20 October, and up to and including 30 November, 1,589 applicants have been enrolled or have made an enrolment appointment for an identity card. The information held on the National Identity Register does not include the occupation of an individual.

Identity Cards: Databases

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which organisations were accredited under the Identity Cards Act 2006 to access data on the National Identity Register on 1 October 2009.

Meg Hillier: No organisation will have access to the information held on the National Identity Register. However, the Identity Cards Act 2006 does allow for information to be provided from the register in prescribed circumstances. The register was not in operation on 1 October 2009, and powers to provide information were not commenced until 20 October 2009.

Identity Cards: Greater Manchester

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the personal information of British citizens applying for identity cards in Greater Manchester from 30 November will be stored on the National Identity Register.

Alan Johnson: British citizens resident or working in Greater Manchester who apply for an identity card will have their identity information including biometrics stored on the National Identity Register. The register will hold the same sort of personal information as is already held for the issue of passports.

Identity Cards: Greater Manchester

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent on informing people in Greater Manchester that they may apply for identity cards from 30 November 2009.

Alan Johnson: The Identity and Passport Service has spent £41,195 to date to buy advertising space that utilises regional press and online search to inform people who live or work in Greater Manchester that they may apply for Identity Cards from 30 November 2009.

Immigration

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children from each country of origin aged  (a) 17,  (b) 12 to 16,  (c) five to 11 and  (d) under five years old have been detained under immigration rules in each of the last 12 years.

Alan Johnson: The requested information is not available; however, in August 2009 the Control of Immigration Quarterly Statistical publication was expanded to include information on persons entering detention, total number of persons leaving detention and the number of families with children held in detention. This information is available split by age (to separately identify children), and will be published quarterly in the future; however data for earlier years will remain unavailable.
	Information on the number of children under the age of 18 entering detention solely under Immigration Act powers in Q1-Q3 2009 by age and country of nationality is available in:
	 Q1 and Q2 2009
	Table 8a and 8b of the Control of Immigration Quarterly Statistical Summary United Kingdom publication
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/immiq209.pdf,
	Tables G and H of the supplementary tables
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/immiq209supp.xls
	 Q3 2009
	Table 9 of the Control of Immigration Quarterly Statistical Summary United Kingdom publication
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/immiq309.pdf,
	Table H of the supplementary tables
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/immiq309supp.xls.
	Published statistics on immigration and asylum are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html.

Immigration Controls: Foreign Workers

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what effects changes in the labour market test for obtaining a work permit have had on the number of domestic workers  (a) applying for and  (b) obtaining jobs in the UK.

Phil Woolas: The flexibility of the points-based system allows us to support UK workers and at the same time meet the recruitment needs of businesses and support the economy. Since April this year, the RLMT has been strengthened to include a requirement to advertise skilled jobs in Jobcentre Plus, so that resident workers have a single source-their local job centre-to access all skilled vacancies. This strengthening of the resident labour market test was introduced to better support resident workers looking for skilled jobs. I announced on 24 November that, on the Migration Advisory Committee's recommendation the test would be further strengthened by increasing from two weeks to four weeks the minimum period that jobs must be advertised in order to satisfy the test. No formal assessment of the impact of the changes has yet been undertaken.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  when he intends to reply to the letter of 9 October 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Waqas Ur Rashid;
	(2)  when he intends to reply to the letter of 5 October 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester Gorton with regard to Mr. Rara Ali Raza.

Alan Johnson: I wrote my right hon. Friend on 30 November 2009.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to reply to the letter of 5 October 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Omer Farooq and Hassan Akhtar.

Alan Johnson: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 2 December 2009.

Members: Correspondence

Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Minister of State expects to provide a substantive reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Rossendale and Darwen of 16 November 2009 sent on behalf of her constituent Miss Ashley Redmayne.

David Hanson: I wrote to my hon. Friend on 25 November 2009.

National Policing Improvement Agency

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for the future  (a) governance and  (b) funding of the National Policing Improvement Agency; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) is an executive non-departmental public body (ENDPB) of the Home Office created under the Police and Justice Act 2006. Its governance arrangements are set out in legislation under Schedule 1 of the Police and Justice Act 2006 and there are no plans to change these arrangements.
	Funding for the NPIA is allocated on an annual basis and funding allocations have not yet been set for 2010-11 and beyond.

National Policing Improvement Agency

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding his Department allocated to the National Policing Improvement Agency in each of the last five years; what agreements are in place between his Department and that agency in relation to the use of such funding; under what statutory powers such funding was allocated; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The funding allocated to the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) since it was established in April 2007 is shown in the following table.
	The NPIA is subject to the principles of regularity, propriety and value for money that applies to all Government Departments and other public bodies in the management of public money and must observe the Treasury guidance 'Managing Public Money'. A Financial Memorandum between the Home Office and NPIA is in place and the Management Statement (published on the NPIA website) sets out in greater detail the financial framework within which NPIA is required to operate. Annual Accounts are laid before Parliament each year. The Chief Executive of the NPIA is the Accounting Officer.
	The Secretary of State has statutory authority to make payments to the NPIA under Schedule 1, part 4 of the Police and Justice Act 2006.
	
		
			  Home Office funding delegated to the National Policing Improvement Agency since vesting on April 20071 
			  (£ million) 
			   Resource  Capital  Total 
			 2007-08 412.3 185.4 597.7 
			 2008-09 396.3 172.5 568.8 
			 2009-10 397.6 153.8 551.4

Police

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if he will bring forward proposals for a protocol for police officers dealing with people with learning difficulties;
	(2)  what training police forces give to police officers on dealing with people with learning difficulties.

David Hanson: holding answer 3 December 2009
	The Initial Police Learning and Development Programme (IPLDP) and Police Community Support Officer learning programme contain modules relating to dealing with individuals with learning difficulties. A list of these modules is given in table 1.
	Police training for all officers and staff is being reviewed to ensure that mental ill health and learning difficulties are covered appropriately. The National Policing Improvement Agency has developed guidance on the 'Police Response to People with Mental Ill Health and Learning Disabilities' on behalf of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO).
	It has been developed in response to the recommendations of Lord Bradley's review of people with mental health problems or learning disabilities in the criminal justice system (April 2009).
	A new Mental Ill Health Learning Programme will take a more focused and detailed approach in looking at mental ill health and learning disabilities, identifying the difference between the two and being able to identify symptoms, indicators and responses to a range of disabilities in a wide variety of policing situations. A list of topics and outcomes is given in table 2. Mind, Mencap and the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health have been consulted throughout the development of this learning programme.
	The contents of table 2 only identify where a specific focus has been drawn to persons with a disability or learning difficulties. There is a strong thread throughout IPLDP promoting equality and dealing with people in a fair and ethical manner by recognising and responding to their needs in respect of race and diversity, as set out in the Disability Discrimination Act and the Human Rights Act.
	An e-learning module is being developed as part of the Mental Ill Health Learning Programme to support the new guidance. The e-learning module, which is designed for all public-facing officers, will be part of initial training and will be available to all Home Office police forces.
	The overarching intention of the guidance, practice advice and training is to reduce the risk of harm to the individual, to members of the community and to policing personnel.
	
		
			  Table 1: Modules currently included in the IPLDP and Police Community Support Officer Learning Programme 
			  Name of module  Description 
			 Assessing the needs of individuals and provide advice and support Identifying vulnerable witnesses (behavioural characteristics and physical characteristics), who may be vulnerable and why. It also looks at communicating with such individuals, special measures provided for vulnerable witnesses including the identification of such needs on the appropriate documentation in file completion. There is also an appendix of common conditions including those that could affect communication, with a summary of that condition. 
			 Using police actions in a fair and justified way The student notes cover communication skills and highlights some conditions that could affect communication. 
			 Interviewing victims and witnesses Includes a section on vulnerable witnesses/victims and specifically highlights the potential for communication difficulties and misunderstandings arising. 
			 Interviewing suspects Dealing with vulnerable people, whether they are a victim, witness or suspect and the need to treat vulnerable people with particular consideration at all times. It looks at whether individuals are fit to be interviewed, and mental health issues, physical disorder, health and behaviour are discussed. It also looks at communication difficulties, the need for appropriate adults in certain situations and the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1985 code of practice in relation to interviewing those who may have a learning difficulty or a mental health issue. 
			 Prepare and present case information, present evidence and finalise investigations Includes a section on witnesses with learning difficulties and deals with how witnesses with learning difficulties may find the criminal justice process especially stressful, and on occasion, traumatic. High stress reduces the person's ability to participate and respond to questioning, or effectively recall events in order to assist the fact finding process of the criminal justice system. The student notes associated with this module look at pre-trial support to aid this process. 
			 Victims and witnesses This looks at the code of practice for the victims of crime and specifically deals with vulnerable and intimidated witnesses. 
			 Strategies for dealing with persons suffering from mental disorder This module specifically covers learning in relation to the legal term of learning disabilities' within the Mental Health Act 1983. It also covers identifying people with learning difficulties and court appearances for people with learning difficulties. 
			 Mental health The module includes a chapter dedicated to dealing with and interviewing people with learning difficulties and mental disorders. It looks at communication and memory difficulties and responses to perceived aggression. The mental Capacity Act 2005 is explored to ensure that officers have an understanding of Section 44 of the Act - III Treatment or Neglect. It fully explains the concept of lacking capacity, inability to make decisions and acting in the best interests of the individual. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2 
			   Topics and outcomes covered by e-learning 
			 3 (aim) Demonstrate an understanding of a range of learning disabilities to be able to effectively communicate with and support the individual 
			 2d Skills and strategies to break down possible barriers to communication when dealing with a person who has a learning disability. 
			 2e The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 as amended in relation to learning disabilities. 
			 6a The reasons why people experiencing mental ill health issues or learning disabilities are at greater risk of becoming a victim of crime. 
			 6b The Association of Chief Police Officers' definition of 'Hate Crime' and the impact that a hate incident can have on a victim. 
			 6c The meaning of 'vulnerable' and 'intimidated' witness as they apply to section 16 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999. 
			 6d Examples of behavioural and physical characteristics that may serve as prompts to identifying vulnerable witnesses. 
			 6e Why information may be difficult to obtain from a vulnerable witness and suggest ways to overcome those difficulties. 
			 3c Effective communication skills and strategies to break down possible barriers and identify individual needs of people who may be experiencing mental health problems within a variety of policing contexts. 
			 3e Strategies that could help reduce the possibility of agitation when dealing with individuals experiencing a mental health problem. 
			 3f Strategies for de-escalation of an existing crisis or distress situation when dealing with individuals experiencing a mental health problem. 
			  Note: Numerals followed by letters are references to the Learning Descriptor v 1.5

Police

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints people with learning difficulties have made against police officers in each of the last five years.

David Hanson: holding answer 3 December 2009
	The Home Office does not hold this information centrally. It is a matter for each police force to retain such information.
	The Police Reform Act, 2002 places a duty on all police forces to record all complaints made by members of the public about the conduct of those serving with the police. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is responsible for the collation and publication of complaints statistics for England and Wales.
	Complaints made by people with learning difficulties, is not a category currently used by the IPCC in the collation of its complaints statistics. The IPCC have however recently requested that forces provide information relating to complainant disability and they are working with forces to ensure the consistent and accurate recording of these data going forward.

Police

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received from hon. Members on the conduct of police officers dealing with people with learning difficulties.

David Hanson: holding answer 3 December 2009
	Since February 2008 I am aware that four hon. Members have written to Home Office Ministers regarding the conduct of police officers in dealing with people with learning difficulties. These include one from the hon. Member himself, to the Home Secretary, in June of this year.
	Since the representations concerned police training matters they were passed to the Chief Executive of the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) for consideration and a reply.

Political Activities

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the cost of policing party political conferences in  (a) 2007-08 and  (b) 2008-09.

David Hanson: We have provided a total of £9.08 million in 2007-08 and £11.2 million in 2008-09 in special grant to police authorities for policing party political conferences.
	Special grant is intended to provide financial assistance in exceptional circumstances to help meet costs where additional expenditure, incurred by the force, would otherwise create a serious threat to the authority's financial stability and would threaten seriously to compromise the force's capacity to deliver normal policing.

Radicalism

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with which civil society organisations his Department has entered into partnerships and agreements to support the delivery of policies related to extremism in the last five years.

David Hanson: Extremism may take many forms. As regards the community-based organisations undertaking work in support of the Prevent agenda, these are funded through Communities and Local Government. However, the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism Prevent Interventions Unit have also sponsored Prevent work with a range of community-based organisations during the past five years. This includes the funding of projects based on sports, education and mentoring in various environments.

Radicalism

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what partnerships and initiatives designed to tackle the spread of extremism on the internet his Department has entered into with overseas authorities and agencies in the last 10 years.

David Hanson: The Government are actively engaged in multilateral and bilateral discussions to explore options available to tackle online violent extremist material. For example, we participated actively in a year-long European project which has just been completed and are currently discussing a follow-up project with European partners. The Government are also assisting with the development of a Europol hosted web portal which is available to investigating agencies across the EU, to share information on open access terrorism related websites and content. Law enforcement agencies have also engaged with partner organisations on operational matters.
	The internet hate crime action plan contains actions to improve co-operation with other states in addressing internet hate crime, including prejudice motivated extremism.

Radicalism

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department has evaluated on the root causes of extremism; and what steps he has taken to tackle them.

David Hanson: Extremism takes many forms. Our assessment is that the main violent extremist threat to the UK is from al-Qaeda or al-Qaeda inspired groups. Experience here and abroad has identified a range of factors that in combination can lead to individuals supporting or becoming violent extremists. The main objectives of the Prevent strand of CONTEST are informed by this work.

Radicalism: Crime Prevention

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the adequacy of information on extremism available to  (a) his Department and  (b) the police to enable them to tackle it; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: My Department and the police rely on high quality reporting from a wide range of sources appropriate to different forms of extremism including the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre and community tension monitoring information gathered by the police. Through websites, bulletins and bespoke reports relevant information is made available to those at the frontline in the police service and the wider public sector.

Stop and Search: Greater London

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many stop-and-searches were carried out under  (a) section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and  (b) section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 in each London borough in each month since May 2007; and how many searches resulted in (i) an arrest and (ii) a conviction for each type of search.

David Hanson: Information on stop-and-searches in 2007-08 (the latest period available) under section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, in the Metropolitan police force area and City of London, broken down by quarter, are provided in the following table.
	Data broken down by month and London borough are not available as the information reported to the Home Office on stop and searches are broken down by police force area and quarter only.
	Information on stops and searches conducted in 2008-09 is scheduled to be published in March 2010.
	
		
			  Stop-searches and resultant arrests under section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, by quarter and police force area, Greater London 2007-08 
			  Number 
			   Section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984  Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 
			   Searches  Resultant arrests  Searches  Arrests for possession of an offensive weapon or dangerous instrument  Arrests for other reasons 
			  Metropolitan Police  
			 Quarter 1 (April 2007 to June 2007) 86,119 10,238 2,686 14 77 
			 Quarter 2 (July 2007 to September 2007) 90,807 10,242 4,867 18 150 
			 Quarter 3 (October 2007 to December 2007) 96,593 10,386 4,812 24 198 
			 Quarter 4 (January 2008 to March 2008) 120,064 11,031 5,106 28 119 
			 Total 2007-08 393,583 41,897 17,471 84 544 
			   
			  City of London  
			 Quarter 1 (April 2007 to June 2007) 1,767 245 - - - 
			 Quarter 2 (July 2007 to September 2007) 1,539 252 2 - - 
			 Quarter 3 (October 2007 to December 2007) 1,203 202 - - - 
			 Quarter 4 (January 2008 to March 2008) 1,252 175 1 - - 
			 Total 2007-08 5,761 874 3 - - 
			   
			  Greater London  
			 Quarter 1 (April 2007 to June 2007) 87,886 10,483 2,686 14 77 
			 Quarter 2 (July 2007 to September 2007) 92,346 10,494 4,869 18 150 
			 Quarter 3 (October 2007 to December 2007) 97,796 10,588 4,812 24 198 
			 Quarter 4 (January 2008 to March 2008) 121,316 11,206 5,107 28 119 
			 Total 2007-08 399,344 42,771 17,474 84 544

Terrorism: Detainees

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he plans to bring forward proposals to increase the maximum period for pre-charge detention for terrorist suspects; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: There are no plans for the Home Secretary to bring forward legislation to extend the maximum period for pre-charge detention at this time.

Work Permits

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the work permits granted on the basis of intra-company transfer in respect of non-EU IT contractors in the last five years were valid on the latest date for which figures are available.

Phil Woolas: The work permit arrangements closed on 26 November 2008 and were replaced by the Points Based System.
	The number of work permits granted during the period 1 January 2004 to 26 November 2008 on the basis of intra-company transfers in respect of non-EU IT employers that were still valid on 27 November is 31,660.
	Figures are rounded to nearest 5.
	The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.

Work Permits

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for a work permit on the basis of intra-company transfer were  (a) made and  (b) granted in respect of non-EU IT contractors in each of the last (i) five years and (ii) eight quarters; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The work permit arrangements closed on 26 November 2008 and were replaced by the Points Based System.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  under what circumstances service personnel serving in Afghanistan are not issued with a personal morphine capsule;
	(2)  whether all service personnel entering theatre in Afghanistan have been issued with a personal morphine capsule.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 23 November 2009
	 Personal morphine auto injectors are issued to service personnel in Afghanistan rather than personal morphine capsules. They should be issued to all service personnel who deploy "outside the wire" of the main operating bases. Those staff who work in the main operating bases, Camp Bastion and Kandahar Airfield, are issued with personal morphine auto injectors if the threat level dictates they should.
	The only circumstance when personal morphine auto injectors should not be issued to service personnel in Afghanistan is when they are based in a main operating base where the threat level does not require it.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) minor injuries,  (b) serious injuries and  (c) fatalities among Afghan civilians have been recorded by his Department in Afghanistan in each year since 2001.

Bob Ainsworth: The UK Government do not collate or publish figures for civilian casualties in Afghanistan because of the immense difficulty and risks of collecting robust data. Every effort is made to avoid civilian casualties and any that are the result of action by UK armed forces are always a matter of profound regret.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 7 July 2009,  Official Report, column 657W, on Afghanistan: peacekeeping operations, how many helicopters have been deployed to Afghanistan as a direct result of the UK-French helicopter initiative.

Bob Ainsworth: The first three helicopters will deploy to Afghanistan this month. We expect a further four helicopters to deploy from late 2010 and up to a further four by 2013.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with his NATO counterparts on sourcing the requirement for ISAF's Operational Reserve Force; and what progress has been made in these discussions.

Bob Ainsworth: The operational reserve force for ISAF has not been filled since 2007. NATO's priority has been to generate operational forces for deployment into theatre rather than the reserve, and this has been the focus of discussions in the alliance.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Pakistani military personnel are  (a) assigned,  (b) attached and  (c) embedded with coalition military forces in Regional Command South.

Bob Ainsworth: There are currently no personnel from the Pakistani armed forces assigned to, attached to or embedded with coalition armed forces in regional command (south). There is a small team of Pakistani military personnel based at the official border crossing point in regional command (south); they are working with Afghan and coalition partners to help facilitate border crossing activity.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British military personnel are  (a) embedded with Pakistani military units and  (b) based in Pakistan to co-ordinate military operations in support of British military operations in Regional Command South.

Bob Ainsworth: There are currently no UK military personnel embedded with Pakistani military units. There are three UK military staff based at the British high commission in Islamabad, who provide a liaison and co-ordination function between the Pakistani military and UK and NATO operations in Afghanistan, which includes regional command (south).

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what records his Department keeps in respect of civilian contractors killed while working in support of UK operations overseas; how many such contractors have been killed while supporting UK operations in Afghanistan since 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: We have a record of the civilian contractors killed supporting UK forces in Iraq who have been recorded on the memorial wall at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire. We hold some records that have been provided by contractors supporting UK forces in Afghanistan.
	Detailed and reliable information on the number of contractors killed while supporting UK operations in Afghanistan is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Collating comprehensive data on fatalities suffered by our contractors is very difficult due to the variety of contractors and the various ways in which they are employed.
	We greatly value the work done by our civilian contractors in supporting operations in Afghanistan and we take very seriously our responsibilities towards them.

Air Force: Military Bases

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) name and  (b) rank is of the RAF Commander at (i) RAF Croughton, (ii) RAF Menwith Hill, (iii) RAF Fairford, (iv) RAF Molesworth, (v) RAF Feltwell, (vi) RAF Lakenheath, (vii) RAF Mildenhall, (viii) RAF Upwood, (ix) RAF Barford St John, (x) RAF Alconbury, (xi) RAF Wyton, (xii) RAF Digby, (xiii) RAF St Mawgan, (xiv) RAF Blenheim Crescent and (xv) RAF Welford; and how many RAF personnel are based at each.

Bill Rammell: The rank of the RAF Commander and the name and rank of the Station Commander, together with the number of RAF personnel based at the RAF bases in the table are as follows:
	
		
			  Base  Position  Name/rank  Number of RAF personnel 
			 RAF Croughton RAF Commander Squadron Leader 1 
			 RAF Barford St. John
			 RAF Blenheim Crescent
			 
			 RAF Menwith Hill RAF Commander Squadron Leader 3 
			 
			 RAF Fairford RAF Commander Squadron Leader 1 
			 RAF Welford
			 
			 RAF Alconbury RAF Commander Squadron Leader 2 
			 RAF Molesworth
			 RAF Upwood
			 
			 RAF Lakenheath RAF Commander Squadron Leader 1 
			 RAF Feltwell
			 
			 RAF Mildenhall RAF Commander Squadron Leader 5 
			 
			 RAF Wyton Station Commander Group Captain 850 
			 RAF Brampton
			 RAF Henlow
			 
			 RAF Digby Station Commander Group Captain 290 
			 
			 RAF St. Mawgan Station Commander Wing Commander 140 
		
	
	The names of the RAF Commanders have been withheld in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

Armed Forces: Casualties

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the policy is of each of the armed forces on the confirmation of acting ranks held by members of the armed forces killed in active duty.

Bob Ainsworth: The award of acting rank is given to service personnel who are required to undertake the role and responsibilities of a higher rank, either for a limited period of time, where they have been selected for promotion but their promotion has yet to be confirmed by the individual service authorities, or they have not yet completed pre-requisite promotion courses.
	In the event of death while holding acting rank, personnel will continue to be referred to by the rank with which they were formally addressed by immediately prior to their death.

Armed Forces: Housing

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints Modern Housing Solutions received about animal infestations in service accommodation in each of the last five years.

Kevan Jones: The requested information is not recorded separately and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Housing

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints were received by Modern Housing Solutions about accommodation for service personnel and their families in each of the last 12 months.

Kevan Jones: Modern Housing Solutions (MHS) is responsible for the repair and maintenance of some 44,000 service family accommodation properties in England and Wales, and attend some 200,000 response repair jobs each year.
	The following table details the total number of complaints received about all aspects of the maintenance and repair service provided for the last 12 months:
	
		
			  Month  Complaints 
			  2008  
			 November 407 
			 December 390 
			  2009  
			 January 534 
			 February 465 
			 March 497 
			 April 532 
			 May 480 
			 June 497 
			 July 573 
			 August 518 
			 September 584 
			 October 543 
		
	
	These figures include calls about all aspects of the repair and maintenance service provided by MHS, ranging from missed or late appointments and duration of work, to vehicle parking and debris left on site.

Armed Forces: Housing

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints were received by Modern Housing Solutions on the maintenance of service accommodation in  (a) Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey constituency,  (b) the Highlands and  (c) Scotland in each month in 2009 to date.

Kevan Jones: The Housing Prime Contract with Modern Housing Solutions covers England and Wales only. Service family accommodation (SFA) in Scotland is repaired and maintained by Turner Estate Solutions, the regional prime contractor for Scotland, who repair and maintain some 3,000 SFA properties in Scotland.
	It is not possible to provide information in the format requested, however, the total number of complaints received about the repair and maintenance service in Scotland for 2009 is provided in the following table.
	
		
			   Number of complaints 
			 January 9 
			 February 9 
			 March 7 
			 April 11 
			 May 8 
			 June 2 
			 July 2 
			 August 1 
			 September 4 
			 October 3

Armed Forces: Pensions

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what pension is payable to a soldier who retires after 15 years in the British Army on 30 April 1997 as a sergeant in a  (a) Gurkha regiment and  (b) regiment recruited in the UK.

Kevan Jones: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 29 June 2009,  Official Report, column 43W.

Armed Forces: Telephone Services

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints have been received in the last 12 months about the effectiveness of the emergency contact numbers provided for the families of serving personnel.

Kevan Jones: The MOD does not maintain records on the number of complaints made on the effectiveness of the emergency contact numbers provided for service families. However, all calls made on these numbers are recorded.

Climate and Energy Security Envoy

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the objectives are of his Climate and Energy Security Envoy.

Kevan Jones: The objectives for the joint MOD/FCO climate and energy security envoy are:
	To broaden and deepen the debate on the security implications of climate change in key countries;
	To ensure increased understanding of climate change risks within the security and defence communities and share best practice;
	To address the consequences of climate change for regional and global stability, including the benefits for the military in reducing its own carbon footprint;
	To help develop a comprehensive policy approach for climate security across the UK Government.

Cyprus

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the environmental policy for bird protection on his Department's land in Cyprus;
	(2)  what account his Department's policy on the trapping of wild birds on its land in Cyprus takes of the provisions of the EU environmental legislation;
	(3)  what legislative provisions of the EU Birds Directive apply to the Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) in Cyprus; and what steps are being taken to reduce levels of trapping and killing of wild birds in the SBAs.

Kevan Jones: The provisions of the EU environmental legislation on the trapping of wild birds, contained in the EU Birds Directive, have been replicated within the Sovereign Base Areas through the enactment of the Game and Wild Birds Ordinance of 2008.
	The Sovereign Base Area Administration (SBAA) has taken a policy decision to adopt all relevant EU legislation relating to the protection of the environment. The SBAA is also committed to meeting the obligations arising from the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, and will introduce Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) next year.
	The Sovereign Base Areas Police has mounted 64 operations and committed in excess of 3,900 hours this year combating illegal trapping. This has resulted in 56 arrests. The Sovereign Base Areas Administration works closely with the Game Fund of the Republic of Cyprus and NGOs such as Birdlife Cyprus to exchange information and combine our efforts to tackle this activity.
	Education also plays a big part in the process, through school and community liaison visits, and particularly through our Environmental Centre at Akrotiri which receives in the region of 10,000 visitors per year, approximately 5,000 of whom are Cypriot school children.

Cyprus

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of trends in the level of bird trapping through  (a) liming and  (b) mist netting on his Department's land in Cyprus in the last five years.

Kevan Jones: The following tables provides the number of offences detected by the sovereign base areas police in each of the sovereign base areas over the past five years.
	
		
			  Eastern sovereign base area 
			   1 April 2009 to  31 March 2010  1 April 2008 to  31 March 2009  1 April 2007 to  31 March 2008  1 April 2006 to  31 March 2007  1 April 2005 to   31  March 2006 
			 Arrests 21 19 28 24 17 
			 Mist Nets 523 698 966 260 294 
			 Lime-sticks 409 550 452 413 698 
		
	
	
		
			  Western sovereign base area 
			   1 January 2009 to  31 December 2009  1 January 2008 to  31 December 2008  1 January 2007 to  31 December 2007  1 January 2006 to  31 December 2006  1 April 2005 to  31 December 2005 
			 Arrests 35 71 28 6 3 
			 Mist Nets 12 23 25 1 0 
			 Lime-sticks 309 268 196 50 0

DA Notices

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what criteria his Department applies in determining when to issue a D notice regarding troop movements; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: The Defence Advisory (DA) Notice System provides guidance to the UK Media on the public disclosure of sensitive national security information. It is an entirely voluntary system, is not supported by any form of sanction, and the advice offered under it can be accepted or rejected in whole or in part. The five standing DA Notices define the limits of the System. DA Notice No 1-which deals with military operations, plans and capabilities-sets out the criteria applied to the public disclosure of information about troop movements. Specifically, it asks that DA Notice advice should be sought before publishing or broadcasting information about the:
	'operational movements of .... individual units or formations (as distinct from routine movements unconnected with operations)'.
	It is for the DA Notice Secretary to provide this advice by applying the general guidance given in the DA Notices to specific public disclosure cases. In doing so, he seeks expert advice when necessary from appropriate staffs and takes into account relevant information already widely available in the public domain.

Defence: Procurement

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Mk7 helmets  (a) have been ordered,  (b) have been delivered to theatre and  (c) are planned to be delivered to theatre; and over what period the latter are planned to be delivered.

Quentin Davies: 15,000 Mk7 helmets have been ordered, of which 5,000 have been delivered to theatre. A further 7,000 will be delivered to theatre early next year. Defence Clothing is seeking to contract for more Mk7 helmets to meet requirements over and above the 3,000 remaining from the original contract.
	Because helmets are a personnel issue item, theatre stocks will be continually replenished as service personnel return to the UK with their helmet at the end of their tour of duty.

Departmental Contracts

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contracts his Department has entered into since January 2009; and what the  (a) name of the contracting company,  (b) monetary value,  (c) purpose and  (d) date of each was.

Quentin Davies: holding answer 1 December 2009
	 I will place the requested information in the Library of the House.

Departmental Cost Effectiveness

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what efficiency savings projects  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies put in place under the Operational Efficiency Programme; on what date each such project was initiated; how much each such project was expected to contribute to departmental savings; how much had been saved through each such project on the latest date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: The MOD is firmly committed to delivering the recommendations of the Operational Efficiency Programme (OEP). My hon. Friend the Minister for Veterans, my hon. Friend the Member for North Durham, (Mr. Jones) has been appointed Value for Money (VFM) Minister and is supported by a board composed of the Minister for Strategic Defence Acquisition Reform, the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, the second permanent under-secretary and the directors general finance and strategy, ensuring senior ownership for driving efficiency throughout the Department. A single programme has been established to deliver the VFM agenda.
	MOD's response to the OEP was a £450 million increase in its comprehensive spending review 2007 (CSR07) VFM target to a total of £3.15 billion VFM savings by 2010-11. There is no separate OEP target in this spending review period beyond this contribution to the CSR07 £35 billion cross government target.
	By the end of FY 2008-09 MOD had achieved around £650 million VFM savings. An indicative breakdown of the initiatives that make up this figure, along with their anticipated savings by FY 2010-11 are described as follows.
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Initiative  VFM savings at end of FY 2008-09  Approximate VFM savings expected by FY  20 10-11 
			 Improvements in corporate enabling services 200 390 
			 Improvements in the way we support defence equipment 70 253 
			 Driving down costs in the nuclear warhead capability sustainment programme 60 178 
			 Savings following a review of Headquarters British Forces Cyprus 3.3 4.3 
			 Drawdown in both military and civilian personnel in Northern Ireland 114 114 
			 Reprioritisation of research programmes 25 25 
			 Over-delivery from SR04 (agreed with HMT) 267 267 
		
	
	Additional VFM savings are being delivered through the Department's planning round, which includes discrete efficiency initiatives and allocative savings, where the Department has chosen to reprioritise its expenditure to ensure its highest priority, delivering success on operations, is supported most effectively. Further progress will be reported in our autumn performance report, which will report VFM savings of around £1.2 billion in the first 18 months of the CSR07 period. We are therefore broadly on track for delivery of the £3.15 billion target.
	Work is also in progress to deliver the specific OEP recommendations, which will contribute to the £9 billion which will be delivered across Government in the next spending review. Progress to date includes:
	An annual benchmarking of Defence (including trading funds) finance, human resource, estates, information technology, and back office costs;
	A review of several MOD assets (the Met Office, the Oil and Pipelines Agency, the Defence Storage and Distribution Agency); and
	Exploration of collaborative procurement opportunities.
	A number of VFM studies to explore further savings within the Department.

Departmental Domestic Visits

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions he visited  (a) Scotland,  (b) Wales and  (c) Northern Ireland in an official capacity in the last 12 months.

Bob Ainsworth: I have visited Scotland four times, Wales twice and Northern Ireland twice in an official capacity in the last 12 months.

Departmental Drinking Water

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 30 November 2009,  Official Report, column 415W, on departmental drinking water, what the reasons are for the increase in expenditure against the contract between November 2008 and October 2009.

Quentin Davies: The increase towards the end of the 12 month period was primarily due to support to Operation Panther's Claw, including provision to members of the Afghan national army and US forces.

Departmental Security

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many security passes his Department has issued to contractors providing consultancy services in the last 12 months.

Kevan Jones: The requested information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Taxis

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many miles  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in his Department travelled by taxi in the course of their official duties in each year since 1997; and at what cost to the public purse in each such year.

Bob Ainsworth: Taxis are used where it is the most cost-effective and economical way of conducting business travel. The mileage accrued when travelling is not recorded. Due to the way that expense data are recorded, the Department is not able to identify expense claims for taxi travel. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Travel

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date he last travelled by  (a) bus and  (b) taxi in the course of his official duties.

Bob Ainsworth: I have not travelled by bus in the course of my official duties, and last travelled by taxi on 30 July 2009.

Devonport Dockyard

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department paid to Rolls Royce for work on the refuelling capabilities of Devonport dockyard; and how much his Department originally budgeted for the project.

Quentin Davies: The nuclear refuelling facilities at Devonport Royal Dockyard were upgraded as part of the D154 contract, to support Vanguard class submarine refits. Rolls-Royce was a subcontractor for this work; the prime contractor was Devonport Management Ltd.
	The original budget for the Rolls-Royce element of this work, when it first started in 1996-97, was £20.4 million. By the completion of the work in 2002, £126 million had been paid to Rolls-Royce.

Ex-servicemen: Radiation Exposure

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what legal costs have been incurred by his Department in the case of the nuclear test veterans  (a) since the start of the litigation,  (b) since 6 February 2009,  (c) in relation to the appeal alone and  (d) for barristers' fees.

Kevan Jones: The legal costs incurred in the case of the nuclear test veterans are as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			  (a) Total since the start of the litigation 2,661,225.10 
			  (b) Since 6 February 2009 669,967.34 
			  (c) In relation to the appeal alone 189,338.23 
			  (d) Barristers' fees alone 1,555,389.50 
		
	
	These are the actual costs as invoiced to 27 November 2009.
	In addition, the High Court ordered the Department to make an interim payment of £7,500,000 on account of costs to the claimants' legal representatives Rosenblatt Solicitors although the Ministry of Defence was given leave to appeal the High Court judgment.
	At the conclusion of his judgment Mr. Justice Foskett said:
	"The Government is, of course, pledged to settle legal cases by alternative dispute resolution in all suitable cases whenever the other party agrees to it. In my view, this is such a case."
	The Ministry of Defence has adhered to the judge's wish but, unfortunately, I cannot reveal the contents of the negotiations because this would breach the confidentiality agreement between the parties. However, I can say that genuine negotiations have taken place between the parties respective counsels and a settlement proposal was made by the Ministry of Defence, although I cannot disclose the amount. To date, no response has been received from the claimants' counsel or the law firm representing them (Rosenblatts). This is obviously disappointing, but we remain open to meaningful discussions. In the meantime, we have been left with no option but to proceed with our appeal for which the High Court judge has given us permission. I understand the appeal is listed for a three week window starting on 4 May 2010.

HMS Endurance

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects HMS Endurance to be  (a) repaired and  (b) back on operations.

Quentin Davies: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for New Forest, East (Dr. Lewis) on 2 November 2009,  Official Report, column 648W.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many commercial  (a) aeroplanes and  (b) ships were hired to assist with the withdrawal of British forces from Iraq; and at what cost.

Bob Ainsworth: A total of 62 commercial passenger aircraft flights were chartered to assist the withdrawal of British forces from Iraq between 19 April and 31 August 2009. The cost of these flights was £6.11 million.
	A total of 29 commercial freight aircraft flights were chartered to assist the withdrawal of British forces from Iraq between 19 April and 31 August 2009. The cost of these flights was £1.77 million.
	No ships were hired specifically to assist with the withdrawal of British forces from Iraq and there were no costs in this area. The majority of equipment, vehicles and stores were withdrawn from Iraq on five sailings using the ro-ro ships operated by Foreland on behalf of the MOD under the 25-year private finance initiative arrangement entered into in 1999. A limited quantity of equipment was transported back to the United Kingdom in containers under normal commercial arrangements with contractors using commercially scheduled sailings.

Low Flying

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the low flying of military aircraft over populated areas.

Kevan Jones: To minimise disturbance pilots are instructed to avoid large centres of population, towns with over 10,000 inhabitants. Fixed wing aircraft are to avoid overflight of these areas below 2,000 feet minimum separation distance (MSD). Light aircraft and rotary wing are to avoid overflights below 1,000 feet MSD. Aircraft conducting authorised flypasts may overfly the area at 1,000 feet MSD if approved by MOD.

Military Bases: Energy

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken to develop smart power grids for UK military bases.

Kevan Jones: The Ministry of Defence is in the process of better understanding its energy consumption through the introduction of smart metering on electricity, gas and oil supplies and these may then have the potential to link into smart grids as they develop across the UK.
	The Department has, however, not taken any steps so far to introduce smart power grids on its estate but will be considering "Smarter Grids: The Opportunity" published by the Department of Energy and Climate Change on 2 December 2009.

NATO Response Force

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what units form the British commitment to the NATO Response Force in 2010.

Bob Ainsworth: From January to June 2010, the UK's commitment to the NATO Response Force will be an Anti-Submarine Warfare Escort Ship and supporting Logistic Ship; a Deployable Air Operating Base, with six Fighter Bomber Aircraft, six Air Defence Aircraft, two Airborne Early Warning Aircraft, two Air to Air Refuelling Aircraft, and a Nuclear Biological and Chemical Response Company.
	From July to December 2010, the UK will contribute an Anti-Submarine Warfare Escort Ship and a Mine Hunter Ship; six Air Defence Aircraft, six Fighter Bomber Aircraft, two Airborne Early Warning Aircraft, and two Air to Air Refuelling Aircraft.

Navy: Discharges

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people  (a) requested and  (b) were granted a discharge from the Royal Navy on grounds of ill health in the last five years.

Kevan Jones: During the period November 2004 to November 2009 the Naval Service Medical Board of Survey and Naval Service Medical Employability Board considered the cases of 835 Royal Navy personnel who expressed a desire to be invalided from the service. Of this number 766 were discharged on medical grounds.

Nigeria and Sierra Leone: Peacekeeping Operations

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what expenditure his Department has incurred on engaging private security companies and private military companies for work undertaken in  (a) Nigeria and  (b) Sierra Leone in each of the last three years.

Bob Ainsworth: None.

Territorial Army

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answers of 7 July 2009,  Official Report, columns 662-3W, on the Territorial Army, when he expects to place the information in the Library.

Bill Rammell: I have written to the hon. Member. A copy of this information was placed in the Library of the House on 12 November 2009.

Trident Missiles

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in which country the gas reservoirs for Trident nuclear warheads are filled with tritium; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 3 December 2009
	This information is being withheld for the purpose of safeguarding national security.

USA: Defence

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether there have been any changes to the range of nuclear weapons-related information and material which can be exchanged between the US and the UK since 2003.

Bob Ainsworth: I refer the hon. Member to the reply my predecessor gave on 2 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1370W to the hon. Member for North Devon (Nick Harvey), on a related question which confirms there has been no extension to the scope of the Mutual Defence Agreement under which nuclear-related information and material can be exchanged between the US and the UK.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Anti-Semitism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent steps he has taken to reduce the incidence of anti-Semitism in  (a) football and  (b) other sports; what recent representations he has received on that matter; what recent meetings he has had with the Football Association on that matter; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: While I have received no recent representations or held any recent meetings on the issue of tackling anti-Semitism in sport, I remain fully committed to a sporting landscape free from all forms of discrimination. To this end:
	 (a) Football treats anti-Semitism as it does all forms of racism as an offence under the ground regulations, giving the clubs and Police powers to deal with it should it occur. The Football Association's (FA) close working relationship with the clubs, the Police and the Crown Prosecution Service also ensures that all incidents of discrimination in football are brought to justice. In addition, The FA's anti-Semitism and Islamophobia working group, chaired by my hon. Friend the Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann) and established in July 2008, continues to explore the issues and make recommendations to the FA Board. With the Premier League and the Professional Footballer's Association, the FA also provides funding for the "Kick It Out" campaign, which tackles anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination.
	 (b) Other sports that receive Government funding through Sport England and UK Sport do so on the basis of their compliance with the Equality Standard for Sport. The standard forbids discrimination on the grounds of gender, marital status, race, colour, religion, disability, age, occupation, religion or political opinion other than that in accordance with legal justification.

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what payments Sport England has made to  (a) Blue Rubicon,  (b) Edelman and  (c) FD-LLM and FD-Public Affairs in the last 12 months for which figures are available; for what purpose; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contracts under which such payments have been made.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information you have requested is not held centrally and is a matter for Sport England.
	Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member for Ruislip-Northwood. Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Departmental Written Questions

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many questions tabled for answer on a named day his Department received in each of the last 12 months; and to how many such questions his Department provided a substantive answer on the day named.

Si�n Simon: My Department(1) received 515 parliamentary questions tabled for answer on a named day during the last 12 months. The amount tabled for answer in each of the last 12 months and the number given a substantive reply are in the table.
	
		
			   Named day  questions tabled  Number sent a substantive reply on the named day 
			  2008   
			 December 43 11 
			
			  2009   
			 January 45 15 
			 February 41 21 
			 March 53 23 
			 April 57 29 
			 May 40 16 
			 June 73 40 
			 July 35 15 
			 August 0 0 
			 September 30 18 
			 October 53 36 
			 November 45 36 
		
	
	(1)Includes figures for named day parliamentary questions tabled to the Minister for the Olympics.
	My Department endeavours to answer all named day parliamentary questions on the allocated day but where this is not possible we aim to provide a substantive reply at the earliest opportunity possible.

EU Law

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what  (a) statutory instruments and  (b) other regulations his Department has brought forward in the 2005 Parliament to meet obligations arising from EU law.

Si�n Simon: In this Parliament, Ministers in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have made the following statutory instruments (including regulations) which arise from obligations in EU law.
	The Gambling Act 2005 (Repeal) (Remote Operating Licence and Credit) Regulations 2007-SI 2007/2321
	The Export of Objects of Cultural Interest (Control) (Amendment) Order 2009-SI 2009/2164
	The Audiovisual Media Services Regulations 2009 - SI 2009/2979 The Licensing Act 2003 (Premises licences and club premises certificates) (Amendment) (Electronic Applications etc) Regulations 2009-SI 2009/3159

Music: Finance

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the answer of 21 July 2009,  Official Report, column 1557W, on music: finance  (a) how much of the £500,000 funding announced in December 2007 to set up music rehearsal spaces has now been (i) allocated and (ii) spent and  (b) how many of the new rehearsal spaces are now open.

Si�n Simon: Although we continue to make good progress on the development of these spaces in liaison with our local authority and music industry partners, and expect to make further offers of grant shortly, for the moment the position remains as set out in the answer of 21 July 2009.

Olympic Games 2012: East Sussex

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the likely legacy from the London 2012 Olympics for participation in sport in East Sussex  (a) in general and  (b) by children under 14 years old.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Since the publication of the Government's Legacy Action Plan in June 2008, there has been significant progress on delivering our aims for a lasting community sport legacy from the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics across the UK.
	We are investing £480 million, through Sport England's Whole Sport Plan process, in the National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of sport during the run up to the games, in order to drive up participation so 1 million more people are doing more sport. The PE and Sport Strategy for Young People sets out how the £780 million of DCMS and DCSF investment is targeted at getting more children to do five hours of sport per week. The huge range of programmes under these strategies will help to ensure that the sporting system in 2012 and beyond is in the best shape possible.
	In addition, regional partners are capitalising on national programmes of delivery like Change 4 Life, Living Well and Free Swimming to encourage innovation through partnerships at all levels to create a real and lasting legacy from the 2012 games for East Sussex.

Portland PR: Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what payments the British Board of Film Classification has made to Portland PR in the last 12 months; for what purpose; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract under which such payments have been made.

Si�n Simon: The British Board of Film Classification is independent of Government and receives no public funding. We have no knowledge, powers or remit concerning its contracts.

Scientists

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on how many occasions he has met  (a) the Government Chief Scientific Adviser and  (b) his Department's Chief Scientific Adviser in the course of his official duties in the last 12 months.

Ben Bradshaw: I have not met the Government Chief Scientific Adviser in the last 12 months, however I regularly meet and take advice from the Department's Chief Scientific Advisor who is in regular contact with him.

Sports: East of England

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been allocated for expenditure per resident on sports and leisure facilities in each  (a) district and  (b) unitary local authority area in the Eastern region in 2009-10.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is not held centrally in the manner requested; to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.

Sports: Finance

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on sport in  (a) Yorkshire and the Humber and  (b) City of York local authority area in each year since 1996-97.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information is as follows:
	 (a) Sport England's figures on this breakdown go back to 2002-03 and the following table shows the amount spent on sport in Yorkshire and the Humber in each year since then. This does not include the significant investment that will benefit Yorkshire and the Humber, and the city of York, through the £480 million worth of National Governing Body investment through Sport England's Whole Sport Plans.
	
		
			  Financial year  Region  Total 
			 2002-03 Yorkshire 589,245 
			 2003-04 Yorkshire 309,748 
			 2004-05 Yorkshire 572,514 
			 2005-06 Yorkshire 6,027,852 
			 2006-07 Yorkshire 9,191,344 
			 2007-08 Yorkshire 1,609,495 
			 2008-09 Yorkshire 3,851,282 
			 2009-10 Yorkshire 3,332,074 
			 Grand total  25,483,554 
			  Source:  Sport England 
		
	
	 (b) In addition, £149,800 was spent specifically in the city of York local authority area in 2008-09.

Stratagem: Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what payments the Big Lottery Fund has made to Stratagem in the last 12 months; for what purpose; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract under which such payments have been made.

Si�n Simon: The information you have requested is not held centrally and is a matter for the Big Lottery Fund.
	Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member for Ruislip Northwood. Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Tourism

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the revenue generated by tourism in the British uplands in each of the last five years.

Margaret Hodge: VisitBritain does not hold this information in the form requested. We do however know that spend on tourism in Cumbria in 2008 was £68 million(1). Further statistics on tourism spend at county and town level are available on the VisitBritain website at:
	http://www.visitbritain.Org/insightsandstatistics/visitorstatistics/inbound/regions/towns.aspx
	(1) Information taken from the Visit Britain website, based on the International Passenger Survey.

Tourism: Yorkshire and Humberside

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much the Government has allocated for tourism promotion in Yorkshire and the Humber in each year since 1996-97.

Margaret Hodge: Yorkshire Forward is the regional development agency (RDA) responsible for supporting tourism in Yorkshire and the Humber. Prior to 2003, the Yorkshire Tourist Board held this responsibility and figures held by region are not available centrally.
	Yorkshire Forward has estimated that the following amounts were spent in supporting tourism in the region from 2003:
	
		
			   Amount (£ million) 
			 2003-04 0.6 
			 2004-05 1.7 
			 2005-06 2.3 
			 2006-07 3.9 
			 2007-08 6.0 
			  Source: VisitBritain-British Tourism Framework Review, 2009 
		
	
	VisitBritain and Visit England additionally market Britain overseas and England to British residents. This promotion will benefit Yorkshire and the Humber.
	The hon. Member may wish to write to the chief executive of Yorkshire Forward to discover if the regional development agency hold records for the period prior to 2003.

UK School Games

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2009,  Official Report, column 596W, on the UK School Games, under what budgetary headings the £350,000 paid for event management was spent; and to whom payments were made under each such heading.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Youth Sport Trust is responsible for the delivery of the UK School Games and was given a contribution of £130,000 to cover their costs. The Youth Sport Trust contracted Fast Track with the delivery of the four day event element of the UK School Games and their fee was £220,000.

UK School Games

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2009,  Official Report, column 596W, on the UK School Games, how much was spent on work with each ambassador.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Youth Sport Trust spent £28,000 on work with 16 Athlete Ambassadors.

UK School Games

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2009,  Official Report, column 596W, on the UK School Games, under what budgetary heading the £227,000 paid for event production, media, website etc. was spent; and to whom payments were made under each such heading.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Youth Sport Trust has provided the following information: All payments were made initially to Fast Track, which was responsible for event management. Fast Track then paid individual suppliers and contractors.
	The promotional campaign and research, including website design and publishing, economic impact study, design/artwork and branding cost £48,595.
	Media costs, including event photography, a contract with Sportsbeat, cuttings and evaluation were £27,747.
	Production facilities, including sound equipment, lighting and TV production cost £68,379.
	Media management costs undertaken by the Youth Sport Trust and Fast Track were £82,688.

UK School Games

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2009,  Official Report, column 596W, on the UK School Games, what payments were made to national governing bodies; and what non-financial support was provided to those bodies.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Youth Sport Trust has provided the following information.
	Payments of between £40,000 and £45,000 were made to hockey, athletics, badminton, fencing, gymnastics, judo, swimming, table tennis, and volleyball. An additional £10,000 went to disability sports: athletics, swimming, table tennis, boccia.
	Non-financial support provided included:
	Training of staff
	Support of staff-development meetings
	Resource support-development and production
	Training and support of Champion Ambassadors
	Strategic review of competition pathways.

JUSTICE

Ashwell Prison

Ronnie Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on what date he expects the report on the riot at HM Prison Ashwell to be published.

Jack Straw: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has drawn up an action plan in response to each of the recommendations in the report, all of which were accepted by Ministers. I placed a copy of the action plan in the Libraries of the House in response to a question from the hon. Member for Harborough (Mr. Garnier) on 11 November 2009,  Official Report, column 462W.
	It would not be appropriate to publish a restricted report, containing sensitive information and while a police investigation is continuing. Key findings were, however that the incident could not have been foreseen; that the prisoners held at Ashwell were appropriate for the prison; and that staffing levels were also appropriate.
	A strategic review of Ashwell is well underway, and I will report to the House once further decisions have been taken.

C-NOMIS Database Project

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether any officials of his Department who were working on the C-NOMIS database project up until October 2008 have since moved to private organisations who have won contracts from his Department in respect of the C-NOMIS project.

Maria Eagle: A senior manager who had worked on the C-NOMIS project is on secondment to an incumbent supplier, which has had a contract change notice awarded. In addition, a senior manager employed by the probation service and who was seconded to the National Offender Management Service to work on the NOMIS Programme has, following retirement, taken up employment with an incumbent supplier, which has had a contract change notice awarded.

C-NOMIS Database Project

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking against officials in his Department for not following Government procurement procedures in respect of the C-NOMIS database project.

Maria Eagle: Officials working on the C-NOMIS project followed Government procurement procedures.

C-NOMIS Database Project

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate the C-NOMIS database project board had made of the cost of the project in the period up to October 2007.

Maria Eagle: A C-NOMIS Project finance manager was recruited in late 2006. He undertook a comprehensive review and informed the C-NOMIS project board that the total cost of completion (one off investment and ongoing live support until 2020) was estimated to be £690 million. The Minister, David Hanson MP, was briefed accordingly and he stopped the project in 2007.
	The National Offender Management Service has since confirmed that the cost of the C-NOMIS project from inception to December 2007 was £160.7 million (which excludes depreciation and cost of capital). The majority of this work has been re-used in the Prison-NOMIS project, which now forms part of the NOMIS Programme.

C-NOMIS Database Project

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will initiate an inquiry into the application of Government procurement procedures in respect of the C-NOMIS database project.

Maria Eagle: Procurement of the C-NOMIS project was carried out in accordance with the public services contracts regulations.

Convictions : Personnel

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many employees of his Department and its agencies were convicted of a criminal offence of each type in each year since 1997.

Jack Straw: As the Ministry's disciplinary processes are devolved to a local level, there is no central recording of the total number of criminal convictions incurred by staff. To determine the number of employees convicted of any criminal offences would require contacting all work areas within the Ministry. To do so would incur disproportionate cost.
	However, the Ministry's conduct policy requires all employees to notify their managers about a criminal conviction and, depending on the circumstances of the case, disciplinary proceedings may be instigated at a local level. Where such a procedure is invoked it is possible to identify employees with convictions. The Ministry collates this information centrally but the reasons are not held in every case.
	For the period 1997 to 2007 (up to the date of the establishment of the Ministry), the number of disciplinary cases related to convictions can be sourced only at a disproportionate cost. Since 2007, the number of staff in the Ministry's staff subject to formal disciplinary action following receipt of a criminal conviction/police caution is detailed in the following table:
	
		
			  Period  Number of cases 
			 9 May 2007 to 8 May 2008 59 
			 9 May 2008 to 8 May 2009 36 
			 9 May 2009 to 31 October 2009 14 
			 Total 109 
		
	
	The total number of people employed by the Ministry of Justice varies from day-to-day. The cases above are from an employment population of circ. 79,840 in 2007-08 and 80,750 in 2008-09. The staff numbers used are published headcount figures on 31 March 2009 held on the Office for National Statistics website at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk

Courts: Domestic Violence

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much funding the Government has allocated to specialist domestic violence courts in England and Wales in each year since 2006.

Maria Eagle: Specialist domestic violence courts are based on a partnership approach to domestic violence by the police, prosecutors, court staff, the probation service and specialist support services for victims. They therefore involve the approach of the wider criminal justice system, rather than simply a court building or jurisdiction. Agencies work together to identify, track and risk assess domestic violence cases, support victims of domestic violence and share information better so that more offenders are brought to justice.
	The funding allocated by the Government to specialist domestic violence courts is for two components of the system; Independent Domestic Advisers and Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conferences. In 2006-07, the Government allocated £3 million. In 2007-08 this figure rose to £4.85 million. In 2008-09 and 2009-10 £6.1 million per year has been allocated for the continued roll-out of Independent Domestic Violence Advisers and Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conferences, some of which are not linked to specialist domestic violence courts.
	All other components of the model are either met through existing services or by adapting existing work practices.

Dangerous Driving: Invalid Vehicles

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what programmes his Department has for people who have committed an offence of riding mobility scooters in a dangerous way.

Sadiq Khan: I have been asked to reply.
	There is no offence in law of riding a mobility scooter in a dangerous manner, therefore there are no mandatory driver rehabilitation programmes in place.

Departmental Domestic Visits

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions he visited  (a) Scotland,  (b) Wales and  (c) Northern Ireland in an official capacity in the last 12 months.

Jack Straw: I made five official visits in total to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in the past 12 months. The dates and reason for travel are listed.
	 (a) Scotland
	16 April 2009
	Regional Cabinet
	 (b) Wales
	3 December 2009 - Speech on the Administration of Justice in Wales
	23 July 2009 - Regional Cabinet
	8 April 2009 - Visit to HMP Cardiff and Cardiff Magistrates' Court
	 (c) Northern Ireland
	7 September 2009 - Opening of the Legal Year in Northern Ireland
	All travel was made in accordance with the Ministerial Code.

Departmental Food

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the proportion of  (a) lamb,  (b) beef,  (c) chicken,  (d) pork,  (e) turkey,  (f) other meats,  (g) vegetables and  (h) fruit procured by his Department that was produced in the UK in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Ward: Percentages of each product type used by the Ministry of Justice that are produced in the UK are shown in the following table:
	
		
			Percentage 
			  Reference  Category  MoJ  MoJ-public  sector prisons  MoJ-private prisons 
			   Meat and poultry
			  (a) Mutton and lamb 55 65 53 
			  (b) Beef and veal 84 46 48 
			  (c) Poultry meat 14 2 40 
			  (d) Pork 70 18 36 
			  (d) Bacon 4 0 28 
			  
			   Vegetables, salads and fruit
			  (g) Ware potatoes-whole, unprepared 97 98 99 
			  (g) Processed potatoes-for prepared both whole and cut 6 64 60 
			  (g) Roots and onions, e.g. carrots, parsnips, onions, turnips and swedes 97 66 77 
			  (g) Brassicas, e.g. Brussels sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower 80 55 78 
			  (g) Legumes, e.g. beans (broad), beans (runner and dwarf), peas (green for market), peas (green for processing), peas (harvested dry) 74 1 24 
			  (g) Protected vegetables, e.g. tomatoes (round, vine, plum and cherry), tomatoes (cold), cucumbers, lettuce, celery, sweet peppers 38 39 45 
			  (g) Other vegetables, e.g. asparagus, celery, leeks, lettuce, watercress 75 18 56 
			  (h) Orchard fruit, e.g. dessert apples, culinary apples, pears, plums 40 0 12 
			  (h) Soft fruit, e.g. strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blackcurrants 39 0 26 
		
	
	
		
			  Her Majesty's Court Service and headquarters buildings-locations with centrally let catering contracts( 1) 
			  Ministry of Justice  Number 
			 Public sector prisons 128 
			 Private prisons 11 
			 (1) There are no food contracts. 
		
	
	This most recent information is contained in a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs report for 2007-08 detailing the proportion of food grown or reared in the UK used by Whitehall Departments, including that supplied to public sector prisons in England and Wales under contracts negotiated by HM Prison Service, now part of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS).
	A copy of this report was placed in the House of Commons Library. A copy can be obtained using the following link:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/policy/publicsectorfood/documents/psfpi-datareport081125.pdf

Departmental Travel

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on what date he last travelled by  (a) bus and  (b) taxi in the course of his official duties.

Jack Straw: The information is as follows:
	 (a) Not in the last 12 months, and
	 (b) 17 September 2009.

Departmental Working Hours

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of staff of his Department, its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies work flexibly or part-time; and what his Department's policy is on making jobs available on a job-share or flexible basis.

Jack Straw: In the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), the number and proportion of staff who work part-time is shown in the following table.
	Table of Part-timers and Full-timers in the Ministry of Justice
	
		
			   Part Time (PT)  PT (%)  Full Time (FT)  FT (%)  Total 
			 Total 11,259 14.1 68,604 85.9 79,863 
			  Note: ONS Data as at 30m June 2009 
		
	
	These figures include civil servants employed in the MOJ, its executive agencies and Wales Office plus MOJ staff on secondment to Scotland Office all of which are recorded on the central HR databases.
	Managers consider all requests to work flexibly. Many of these requests for flexible working may be made informally and therefore will not be formally recorded. Information concerning how many staff participate in such arrangements is not collated centrally and could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
	In the MOJ all jobs are available on a job-share or flexible basis, unless there is a business reason why this cannot be granted.

Driving Offences

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in  (a) Mid Bedfordshire constituency,  (b) the East of England and  (c) England were disqualified from driving as a result of (i) drink driving, (ii) speeding and (iii) dangerous or reckless driving in each of the last 10 years.

Claire Ward: The number of disqualifications imposed at all courts in the Bedfordshire police force area, the East of England Government office region and England for driving after consuming alcohol or taking drugs, speed limit offences, dangerous and careless driving offences, is given in Tables 1, 2 and 3 from 1998 to 2007 (latest available).
	There is no specific offence of reckless driving, thus information included in the table is for offences of dangerous and careless driving.
	Court proceedings data are not available at parliamentary constituency level.
	Data for 2008 are planned for publication on 28 January 2010.
	
		
			  Table 1: The number of disqualifications imposed at all courts in the Bedfordshire police force area, for selected motoring offences, from 1998 to 2007( 1,2) 
			  number of offences 
			  Offence type  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Dangerous driving 35 36 32 37 41 71 48 64 70 61 
			 Driving etc. after consuming alcohol or taking drugs 993 820 756 857 899 1,013 1,016 987 1,073 994 
			 Careless driving 17 13 22 42 34 37 28 34 47 48 
			 Speed limit offences 158 121 126 138 117 289 238 441 355 258 
			 Total 1,203 990 936 1,074 1,091 1,410 1,330 1,526 1,545 1,361 
			 (1) It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings, in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete.  (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.   Source:  Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: The number of disqualifications imposed at all courts in the East of England Government office region( 1) , for selected motoring offences, from 1998 to 2007( 2,3) 
			  number of offences 
			  Offence type  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Dangerous driving 373 376 322 333 422 555 485 469 452 461 
			 Driving etc. after consuming alcohol or taking drugs 7,732 7,553 6,933 7,391 8,038 8,406 8,860 8,544 8,968 8,482 
			 Careless driving 149 141 162 221 256 260 253 288 279 274 
			 Speed limit offences 1,705 1,772 1,403 1,591 1,450 1,497 1,477 1,870 1,609 1,375 
			 Total 9,959 9,842 8,820 9,536 10,166 10,718 11,075 11,171 11,308 10,592 
			 (1) Includes: Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk police force areas.  (2) It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings, in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete.  (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.   Source:  Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: The number of disqualifications imposed at all courts in England, for selected motoring offences, from 1998 to 2007( 1,2) 
			  number of offences 
			  Offence type  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004( 3)  2005  2006  2007 
			 Dangerous driving 4,570 4,269 4,225 4,116 5,071 6,220 6,177 5,256 4,914 4,675 
			 Driving etc. after consuming alcohol or taking drugs 80,332 77,827 74,697 73,685 79,310 81,139 84,669 81,107 81,461 78,503 
			 Careless driving 1,423 1,445 1,478 1,861 2,026 1,988 2,240 2,164 2,085 2,232 
			 Speed limit offences 11,565 11,551 10,695 10,951 8,739 9,330 9,582 9,875 8,977 7,917 
			 Total 97,890 95,092 91,095 90,613 95,146 98,677 102,668 98,402 97,437 93,327 
			 (1)It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings, in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete.(  2)Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  (3)Figures given include revised figures for Sussex police force area.   Source:  Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice.

Driving Offences: Norwich

Chloe Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many fines for speeding offences have been  (a) issued to and  (b) paid by residents of Norwich North constituency in each year since 1997.

Maria Eagle: Information held by the Ministry of Justice, on the Court Proceedings Database, on the number of court imposed fines issued for speed limit offences in the Norfolk police force area, from 1997 to 2007 (latest available) is given in table 1. Data held centrally are not available at parliamentary constituency level.
	Court proceedings data for 2008 are planned for publication on 28 January 2010.
	In addition to court fines, information provided by the Home Office on the number of fixed penalty notices (FPNs) issued by the police for speeding offences, in the Norfolk police force area, for the period 1997 to 2007 (latest available) are provided in table 2.
	It is not possible to separately identify FPNs issued to residents of Norwich, North constituency as the data reported to the Home Office are broken down by police force area only. Additionally, information on payment rates of fixed penalty notices for speeding offences are not available as the data reported to the Home Office are not broken down by offence. Data for 2008 are scheduled to be published in March 2010.
	Her Majesty's Courts Service advise that it is not possible, from revenue received, to separately identify fines registered by the courts for speeding offences.
	
		
			  Table 1: The number of fines imposed at all courts in the Norfolk police force area for speed limit offences( 1) , from 1997 to 2007( 2,3) 
			  Number of offences 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Number of fines 1,215 1,372 1,679 1,374 1,449 1,269 2,372 2,764 2,824 3,453 2,669 
			 (1) Offences under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 ss. 16, 81, 84, 86, 88 and 89; Motor Vehicles (Speed Limit on Motorways) Regs. 1973; Parks Regulation (Amendment) Act 1926 - byelaws made thereunder. (2) It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of fixed penalty notices issued in Norfolk police force area for speeding offences, 1997 to 2007( 1) 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Number of fixed penalty notices issued 4,895 5,379 9,267 4,783 5,166 17,116 31,640 26,938 25,117 24,985 24,878 
			 (1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Home Office Statistics

Drugs: Crime

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been convicted of offences of drug  (a) possession and  (b) dealing in (i) Reading East constituency and (ii) Berkshire in the last 12 months.

Claire Ward: Information showing the number of persons found guilty at all courts for drug possession and dealing in the Thames Valley police force area in 2007 (latest available) is shown in the following table.
	Data are not available at constituency or county level; police force area data are given in lieu.
	Data for 2008 are planned for publication on 28 January 2010.
	
		
			  Number of persons found guilty at all courts for the possession and dealing of drugs in the Thames Valley police force area, 2007( 1,2) 
			  Offence  2007 
			 Having possession of a controlled drug 1,310 
			 Having possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply 188 
			 Supplying or offering to supply a controlled drug 65 
			 (1)The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.  (2)Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.   Source:  Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice.

East Sutton Park Prison: Prisoner Escapes

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what discussions he has had with the Prison Service on the transfer and subsequent absconsion of Jane Andrews from HMP East Sutton; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: Ministers would not be routinely informed about the transfer of a prisoner from one open prison to another, and I was not informed in this case. I was informed that this prisoner had absconded, my office was regularly briefed during the time she was unlawfully at large, and I was informed when she was apprehended by Kent Police. An investigation into her abscond is under way. The interim report should be completed by 3 December.

Females: Prisoners

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what progress he has made in the implementation of the recommendations of the Corston Report on women with particular vulnerabilities in the criminal justice system.

Maria Eagle: The Government are committed to diverting vulnerable women, who are not serious or dangerous offenders, from custody. Our strategy is to strengthen services in the community, tackling the complex needs of women who offend and offering viable alternatives to custody; and to ensure that those who do go to prison are treated in ways that are informed by their needs and are gender sensitive.
	In line with this approach this year we have awarded 31 grants to third sector organisations to develop additional services in the community for women offenders or those at risk of offending. The Together Women Projects will also continue to meet the multiple and complex needs of women in the community.
	Along side this the National Offender Management Service implemented new full search arrangements that take a risk-based approach reducing the frequency of full searches. In addition, gender specific standards which ensure an appropriate response to women prisoners were implemented in all women's prisons this year.
	A full progress update will be made to Parliament this December.

Fixed Penalties: Royal Parks

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer of 10 March 2009,  Official Report, column 241W, on fixed penalties: Richmond Park, what progress has been made on determining a timeframe for implementing regulations to establish fixed penalties for nuisance offences in Richmond Park.

Claire Ward: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 10 March 2009,  Official Report, column 243W, by the Minister of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Garston (Maria Eagle). The Government have decided not to proceed with proposals to add the regulations which prohibit littering, dog-fouling and illegal cycling in the Royal Parks, to the Penalty Notice for Disorder (PND) scheme. Given the range of other disposals available to the police and courts, we have decided not to extend the scheme to any new offences at this time. On 9 November, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor (Jack Straw) announced a review of the use of out of court disposals including PNDs to look at whether they were being used inappropriately by the police and Crown Prosecution Service.

Hollesley Bay Prison

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  whether any prisoners convicted of murder are being held at HMP Hollesley Bay;
	(2)  whether any prisoners serving life sentences are being held at HMP Hollesley Bay;
	(3)  what categories of prisoner are held at HMP Hollesley Bay.

Maria Eagle: There are currently 17 prisoners convicted of murder at HMP Hollesley Bay.
	There are currently 34 prisoners serving indeterminate sentences. Of these 26 have life sentences, seven have imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentences and one has a detention for public protection (DPP) sentence.
	All prisoners at Hollesley Bay are category D.
	Transfer of any prisoner to open conditions will only take place if continued detention in closed conditions is no longer necessary for the protection of the public. Open conditions allow prisoners to find work, re-establish family ties and reintegrate into the community. All these are essential components for successful resettlement and an important factor in protecting the public.

Homicide: Prisoners Release

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people convicted of murder and subsequently released on compassionate grounds since 1993 have died  (a) within three months of and  (b) more than three months after their date of release.

Maria Eagle: We do not hold this information centrally. To provide this information would require a manual examination of paper records and inquiries with agencies responsible for the prisoners' health and welfare following their release at a disproportionate cost.

Immobilisation of Vehicles

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department and its predecessor have paid in vehicle clamping charges incurred on  (a) privately-owned and  (b) publicly-owned land in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: The policy of the Ministry is that the vehicle user is personally responsible for any fines incurred while the vehicle is allocated to them, including associated administration charges where applicable. This includes fines incurred by other users to whom the user has authorised use of the car i.e. additional drivers. The Ministry has not therefore incurred any expenditure on vehicle clamping charges.

Legal Services Commission: Fees and Charges

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what interest rate the Legal Services Commission is allowed to charge when taking possession of houses; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: Members of the public who receive civil legal aid for a money or property dispute, and who succeed in obtaining a financial benefit from their case, are required to repay their legal aid costs, so resources can be recycled to help others. If someone is unable to repay their legal aid costs immediately, these can be postponed as a statutory charge on their property. Where charges are postponed against property, persons are not obliged to make any repayments, or to repay the charge in full until their financial circumstances change, or the property changes hands. The Legal Services Commission will not force anyone to sell their home. However, in order to encourage clients to repay their postponed charge where they can, the charge accrues simple interest, the rate for which is set out in regulations. The current rate is 8 per cent. A written ministerial statement was made concerning this issue by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Justice (Mr. Wills) on 8 June 2009,  Official Report, columns 23-24WS.

Lord Chancellor's Advisory Council

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice who the members are of the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Council; and what the relevant qualifications are of each of them.

Michael Wills: As of December 2009, the members of the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Council on National Records and Archives are:
	 Chairman: Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, Master of the Rolls
	Ms Else Churchill, Genealogy Officer of the Society of Genealogists
	Professor Harry Dickinson, Emeritus Professor of British History, University of Edinburgh
	Dr. Jeevan Deol, Affiliated Research Associate, Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge
	Right hon. the Viscount De L'Isle MBE, DL. Owner of the De L'Isle and Sidney family papers at the Centre for Kentish Studies and Penshurst Place
	Sir David Durie KCMG, Retired, formerly Governor and Commander in Chief of Gibraltar
	Dr. Clive Field OBE, Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, formerly Director of Scholarship and Collections at the British Library
	Ms Christine Gifford, Information Rights expert and Founding Director of Public Partners and Gifford Owen
	Dr. Jennifer Haynes, Archives and Manuscripts Manager at the Wellcome Library
	Mr. Graeme Herd, Head of Information Technology at Slough Borough Council
	Professor Arthur Lucas CBE, Emeritus Professor of Science Curriculum Studies at, and was formerly Principal of, Kings College London
	Ms Catherine Maxwell Stuart, Owner of the private family and estate archive at Traquair House, Innerleithen, Peeblesshire
	Professor Heidi Mirza, Professor of Equalities Studies in Education at the Institute of Education, University of London
	Professor Michael Moss, Professor of Archival Studies at the University of Glasgow
	Right hon. the Lord Roper, Formerly Chief Whip for the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords
	Ms Janet Smith, County Archivist of Hampshire
	Mr. Ian Soutar, Formerly British Ambassador to Bulgaria and Ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament, Geneva
	Ms Stephanie Williams, Author, Journalist and user of archives

National Offender Management Service: Information and Communications Technology

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of arrangements for co-ordination of information and technology systems available to the Probation Service.

Maria Eagle: The assessment of Information Technology (IT) systems available to the National Probation Service (NPS) is co-ordinated by the NPS ICT Board, supported by the ICT Business team who consider the systems available.
	Senior probation managers are regularly consulted about the adequacy of current IT systems as part of a wider consultative process intended to support business planning.
	IT system development takes place with the authority of the NPS ICT Board-once a project has been commissioned, there is a requirement to submit a monthly report, detailing progress to date, the current financial position and highlighting any significant risks or issues facing the project.
	A recent example of arrangements for co-ordinated delivery of an IT system within NPS is the NOMIS Programme, which encompasses five projects, three of which will directly benefit the probation service, as follows:
	Probation Case Management System (PCMS) will replace a variety of probation systems with a centralised version based on a redevelopment of the existing Delius system;
	A data sharing system will be developed and implemented, enabling staff in both probation and in the prisons, to share core information required to support Offender Management; and
	The two existing Offender Assessment Systems (OASys), used by prisons and probation, will be replaced by an improved, centralised system that will also have an interface with PCMS.

Offenders: Mentally Ill

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether training is provided to prison service staff on working with mentally ill female offenders.

Maria Eagle: Training for newly recruited prison officers provides officers with an understanding of mental health disorders and how to respond effectively to all prisoners (including women) experiencing mental ill health. Further training is available to prison officers throughout their career depending on their role within their prison. Training makes specific reference to issues affecting women, where appropriate. All training provides prison officers with the knowledge to identify offenders with mental health issues and refer to appropriate health care professionals.
	Prison Service Order 4800, published in April 2008 for implementation in all women's prisons in 2009, provides a set of gender specific standards for women prisoners. The standards draw from existing best practice and cover all areas of regime provision including reception into custody, day to day living in the prison environment and planning for resettlement, as well as discrete groups of women. The main thrust of the standards is about being sensitive and responsive to gender specific needs and addressing them appropriately, in particular through the positive engagement of staff. It is largely a case of good staff training and support, and the introduction of the Women's Awareness Staff Programme training has therefore been key.

Prison Accommodation

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of cells in each prison in England and Wales were unoccupied on the most recent dates for which figures are available; and for what reasons such cells are not in use.

Jack Straw: The following table shows the number and proportion of places that constitute each prison's operational capacity that are not being used for the ordinary accommodation of prisoners on 30 October 2009.
	
		
			  Prison name  Places that are not being used  Percentage of places that are not being used 
			 Acklington 6 1 
			 Albany 0 0 
			 Altcourse 38 3 
			 Ashfield(1) 134 34 
			 Ashwell 4 2 
			 Askham Grange 10 8 
			 Aylesbury 7 2 
			 Bedford 17 3 
			 Belmarsh 16 2 
			 Birmingham 12 1 
			 Blantyre House 1 1 
			 Blundeston 12 2 
			 Brinsford 37 7 
			 Bristol 10 2 
			 Brixton 26 3 
			 Bronzefield(2) 23 5 
			 Buckley Hall 4 1 
			 Bullingdon 1 0 
			 Bullwood Hall 3 1 
			 Camp Hill 8 1 
			 Canterbury 6 2 
			 Cardiff 15 2 
			 Castington(1) 70 17 
			 Channings Wood 2 0 
			 Chelmsford 28 4 
			 Coldingley 12 2 
			 Cookham Wood(1) 20 17 
			 Dartmoor 3 0 
			 Deerbolt 19 4 
			 Doncaster 45 4 
			 Dorchester 15 6 
			 Dovegate 0 0 
			 Dover 7 2 
			 Downview 6 2 
			 Drake Hall(2) 36 11 
			 Durham 36 4 
			 East Sutton Park(2) 10 10 
			 Eastwood Park(2) 44 12 
			 Edmunds Hill 9 2 
			 Elmley 2 0 
			 Erlestoke 7 1 
			 Everthorpe 12 2 
			 Exeter 27 5 
			 Featherstone 5 1 
			 Feltham(1) 119 16 
			 Ford 7 1 
			 Forest Bank 7 1 
			 Foston Hall(2) 60 21 
			 Frankland 50 6 
			 Full Sutton 16 3 
			 Garth 14 2 
			 Gartree 2 0 
			 Glen Parva 24 3 
			 Gloucester 4 1 
			 Grendon 6 3 
			 Guys Marsh 3 1 
			 Haslar 18 11 
			 Haverigg 2 0 
			 Hewell 49 3 
			 Highdown 4 0 
			 Highpoint 3 0 
			 Hindley(l) 101 23 
			 Hollesley Bay 3 1 
			 Holloway(2) 59 12 
			 Holme House 10 1 
			 Hull 19 2 
			 Huntercombe(1) 120 33 
			 Kennet 3 1 
			 Kingston 3 2 
			 Kirkham 1 0 
			 Kirklevington 10 4 
			 Lancaster 11 5 
			 Lancaster Farms 9 2 
			 Latchmere House 6 3 
			 Leeds 27 2 
			 Leicester 22 6 
			 Lewes 44 6 
			 Leyhill 15 3 
			 Lincoln 53 7 
			 Lindholme 14 1 
			 Littlehey 15 2 
			 Liverpool 106 7 
			 Long Lartin 3 0 
			 Low Newton(2) 53 16 
			 Lowdham Grange 6 1 
			 Maidstone 0 0 
			 Manchester 22 2 
			 Moorland 22 3 
			 Moorland Open 4 2 
			 Morton Hall 19 5 
			 Mount 4 1 
			 New Hall(2) 82 18 
			 North Sea Camp 7 2 
			 Northallerton(1) 34 13 
			 Norwich 24 3 
			 Nottingham 1 0 
			 Onley 14 2 
			 Parc 13 1 
			 Parkhurst 7 1 
			 Pentonville 96 8 
			 Peterborough 70 7 
			 Portland 22 4 
			 Prescoed 1 1 
			 Preston 116 14 
			 Ranby 10 1 
			 Reading(1) 32 11 
			 Risley 9 1 
			 Rochester 6 1 
			 Rye Hill 12 2 
			 Send 10 4 
			 Shepton Mallet o 0 
			 Shrewsbury 9 3 
			 Spring Hill 16 5 
			 Stafford 2 0 
			 Standford Hill 4 1 
			 Stocken 5 1 
			 Stoke Heath(1) 69 10 
			 Styal(2) 63 14 
			 Sudbury 0 0 
			 Swaleside 0 0 
			 Swansea 0 0 
			 Swinfen Hall 4 1 
			 Thorn Cross 29 9 
			 Usk 1 0 
			 Verne 5 1 
			 Wakefield 8 1 
			 Wandsworth 0 0 
			 Warren Hill(1) 38 17 
			 Wayland 8 1 
			 Wealstun 4 1 
			 Wellingborough 5 1 
			 Werrington(1) 32 20 
			 Wetherby(1) 67 16 
			 Whatton 5 1 
			 Whitemoor 5 1 
			 Winchester 4 1 
			 Wolds 2 1 
			 Woodhill 6 1 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 0 0 
			 Wymott 10 1 
			 Total 2,944 3 
			 (1) Identifies those prisons whose predominant function is to hold juveniles or which hold juveniles (2) Identifies those prisons whose predominant function is to hold female prisoners 
		
	
	The total number of unoccupied places according to the table is approximately 3,000. This represents the difference between the total operational capacity of the estate and the population (at the end of October). In some cases, prisoners will be held in accommodation that does not feature in a prison's operational capacity (for example, are temporarily located in a segregation unit or in the health care centre, units that do not usually feature in operational capacity) or will be on temporary licence. However, these prisoners would ordinarily be accommodated in the general accommodation of the prison and therefore it is appropriate to include them in the calculation. Reductions in operational capacity because accommodation is not available for current use (for example, because of sustained damage, as in the case of HMP Ashwell, or substantial refurbishment programmes) have been discounted.
	The level of unoccupied cells does not reflect the level of free, useable capacity in the estate. Places might be temporarily out of use, for example, where a cell has been damaged or is under going short-term maintenance. Some places cannot be used because they are in double cells required for single occupancy following a safety risk assessment. More generally, the demographics of the population mean that it is impossible in practice to make use of every operationally viable place. This is reflected in the operating margin: an allowance of 2,000 places that is removed from total operational capacity figures to provide the estate's useable operational capacity. The above table suggests that there is useable headroom of around 1,000 places in the estate, which is the current difference between useable operational capacity and the population.

Prison Accommodation: Sussex

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoner places are available at each prison serving the Sussex area when at full capacity; and how many prisoners were serving sentences at each such prison on the latest date for which figures are available.

Jack Straw: The following table gives the numbers of prisoners serving sentences in the two prison establishments in Sussex at the end of June 2009, the latest date for which figures are available:
	
		
			   Establishment 
			   Ford  Lewes 
			 Operational capacity 557 723 
			 Sentenced population 529 451 
			 Held on remand and civil offenders 0 213 
			 Total held in custody 529 664 
			 Places available 28 59 
		
	
	The operational capacity of a prison is the total number of prisoners that an establishment can hold taking into account control, security and the proper operation of the planned regime. It is determined by area managers on the basis of operational judgment and experience.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prison Visitors: Drugs

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many visitors to prisons were found to be in possession of illegal drugs in 2007-08; how many such visitors were referred to the police; and what steps were taken in respect of those not referred to the police.

Maria Eagle: The data are not available in the format requested.
	It is the National Offender Management Service's policy for all prison visitors found in possession of illicit drugs to be referred to the police. As a result of which in 2007-08 the police made 424 arrests of prison visitors the majority of which would have been for drug offences.
	Irrespective of the subsequent action taken by the police, prisons will impose visiting bans and/or closed visits on the visitor concerned. The precise measures imposed will be decided locally, on a case-by-case basis dependant on the precise circumstances of the incident. These measures can also be imposed on the basis of suspicion, without the visitor found to be in possession of drugs.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. The data are not subject to audit.

Prisoner Escapes

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many category D prisoners have absconded from prison in each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: Data are shown in the following table of prisoners who have absconded from open prisons in England and Wales in the last five years broken down by  (a) year  (b) number of absconds.
	
		
			  Number of absconds from all prisons in England and Wales in each of the last five years 
			   Number of absconds (all prisons-England and Wales) 
			 2004-05 877 
			 2005-06 709 
			 2006-07 555 
			 2007-08 513 
			 2008-09 362 
		
	
	The number of absconds has been falling year on year. Last year was the lowest number of absconds on record.
	All prisoners are assessed for suitability to be categorised as category D before allocation to an open prison. Open prisons monitor prisoners' attitude and behaviour for indicators of potential to abscond, however not all incidents of abscond can be predicted.
	Following an abscond, the incident is reported to the police. The current rate of arrest and return to custody is 96 per cent.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.

Prisons

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Eastleigh of 27 October 2009,  Official Report, column 334W, on prisons: convictions, for what reasons the information requested is not held.

Maria Eagle: NOMS' central reporting systems do not record this type of information. The only way to obtain this type of information would be to contact all Prison Service establishments, requesting a check of their local records. This would incur disproportionate cost. Details of prosecutions and convictions, moreover, are not directly the responsibility of NOMS.
	However, from April 2009, indictable and triable-either-way offences contained in the Offender Management Act have been included in the Home Office Counting Rules for Recorded Crime. Offences recorded by police will be published in next year's annual statistical bulletin, Crime in England and Wales (July 2010).

Prisons: Alcoholic Drinks

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many instances of alcohol abuse were reported in each prison in England in each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: Instances of alcohol use in prisons are treated as a miscellaneous incident and recorded centrally on the Prison Service Incident Reporting System. These incident reports are currently in a format that cannot readily be interrogated electronically. To provide the information requested would involve the manual inspection of more than 100,000 incident records which could only be achieved at disproportionate cost. The National Offender Management Service has in place a strategy to reduce both the supply and the demand for alcohol with a comprehensive range of security measures and searching techniques to detect items of contraband, including alcohol, and prevent smuggling into establishments. It is a criminal offence to convey alcohol into prison and prisoners caught in possession of alcohol within prison will face disciplinary action. Alcohol consumption is a cause of criminality in society and many prisons have programmes in place to assist prisoners to lessen their dependence on alcohol.

Prisons: Drugs

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Eastleigh of 11 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 492-4W, on prisons: drugs, how many prisoners have tested positive for drugs on  (a) one,  (b) two,  (c) three and  (d) four or more occasions in each prison in 2008-09.

Maria Eagle: The information is not held centrally. To provide the data would require a detailed investigation into each prison's mandatory drug testing records, which would be at disproportionate cost.

Prisons: Drugs

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many body orifice security scanners are  (a) installed and  (b) in use in each prison.

Maria Eagle: This year NOMS purchased and delivered at least one BOSS chair to every prison that did not already have one, with the exception of immigration removal centres, where the use of mobile phones is not prohibited. Some chairs have since been moved between prisons to better match local risk.
	In a survey of BOSS chair usage between 17 and 25 September, 115 prisons reported that the BOSS chair was in use. Reasons for non-operation included awaiting building work to accommodate the chair, and chairs awaiting repair or return from repairs. The pattern of use will vary over time and it is not possible to say how many BOSS chairs are operational on any given day.
	NOMS Headquarters have not mandated how BOSS chairs must be used. As is the case for many searching technologies and techniques, the decision on how to use the BOSS chairs is for individual Governors to make, and will depend on their local circumstances, including their existing local searching strategies. The relevant Prison Service Instruction (PSI) states:
	The frequency of searches using the BOSS and policies for its use are for local discretion.
	Prisons deploy a range of activities and equipment, including hand-held detection wands, as effective alternatives to BOSS chairs.

Prisons: Drugs

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in which prisons the searching of  (a) visitors and  (b) staff is not mandatory; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The National Offender Management Service's (NOMS) policy requires that in all prisons, procedures are in place for the searching of prisoners, staff, domestic, official and professional visitors and contractors and that this is set out as part of a written local security strategy agreed with the regional manager.
	While the searching of visitors and staff will be carried out in all prisons, the level and frequency of such searching at individual establishments is determined by local security and control needs and this is set out in each prison's local searching strategy.
	In the majority of prisons, this will mean a programme of routine searches of both staff and visitors in addition to searches based on suspicion or on receipt of intelligence. In some prisons, particularly some open prisons, a better use of resources may be achieved by carrying out only targeted, intelligence-led or random search programmes.

Reoffenders

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the recidivism rate is for offenders convicted of  (a) drug-related crime and  (b) all other crimes.

Claire Ward: Table 1 shows the one year adult reoffending rates for offenders in England and Wales released from custody in the first quarter (1 January to 31 March) of the years 2000 to 2007, who commenced a court order under probation supervision, or who were discharged from a custodial sentence given for a drug-related offence. The table shows the proportion of offenders who committed at least one further offence and the frequency of offences per 100 offenders. It also shows reoffending rates for the whole cohort.
	
		
			  Table 1: One-year reoffending rates, offenders commencing a court order or discharged from a custodial sentence, 2000-07 who were convicted for a drug-related offence 
			Number of offenders  Actual reoffending rate (Percentage)  Number of offences per 100 offenders 
			  Drug-related offences 2000 Q1 3,045 31.1 92.9 
			  2002 Q1 2,802 32.3 119.7 
			  2003 Q1 2,822 33.2 117.4 
			  2004 Q1 2,793 29.4 102.4 
			  2005 Q1 2,591 31.4 100.5 
			  2006 Q1 3,353 28.7 86.8 
			  2007 Q1 3,390 30.6 93.1 
			  
			  All offences 2000 Q1 42,734 43.0 185.0 
			  2002 Q1 43,247 45.5 212.7 
			  2003 Q1 44,095 45.4 205.3 
			  2004 Q1 46,532 42.9 181.3 
			  2005 Q1 43,429 41.2 165.7 
			  2006 Q1 50,281 38.6 144.0 
			  2007Q1 50,085 39.0 147.3 
			  Notes:  1. Data for 2001 are unavailable due to problems with archived data.  2. Any offences committed in the one-year follow up period are not necessarily of the same offence type as the index. 
		
	
	Please note that drug-related offences includes offences for importing and exporting drugs, for production and supply of drugs, and for drugs possession and small scale supply. There may be a range of offences that have a drug-related element which are not included in these data, but are contained within another offence group.
	The table does not show reoffending rates for all drug-related crime as offenders only enter the cohort when they were convicted for their drug-related offence.
	Further information on the one-year rates of reoffending can be found at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/reoffendingof adults.htm
	The figures for reoffences include offences of all types. An offender whose original offence was drug-related and who reoffended, may not have committed any more drug-related offences.

Sentencing

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many prisoners sentenced to a custodial term of three months served  (a) three months,  (b) six weeks or less and  (c) one week or less in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many prisoners sentenced to a custodial term of six months served  (a) six months,  (b) three months or less and  (c) six weeks or less of their sentence in each year since 1997.

Claire Ward: Automatic release at the halfway point of sentence was introduced by the Criminal Justice Act 1991. Prisoners who are sentenced to three months therefore normally serve six weeks in prison and prisoners who are sentenced to six months normally serve three months in prison. Adult prisoners sentenced to less than 12 months are not subject to supervision by the probation service on release from custody. However, they are 'at risk' of return to custody by the courts, to serve the unexpired portion of the sentence, if they commit an imprisonable offence before the expiry date of the original sentence. Young offenders (those under the age of 22 released from a term of detention in a YOI) are subject to a minimum of three months supervision. Juvenile prisoners sentenced to a detention and training order are supervised as part of the conditions of these sentences.
	The actual amount of time served in prison, following sentence, will depend on a number of factors, including time spent as a remand prisoner or credit for time spent on tagged bail if directed by the court, any added days and release on either home detention curfew or end of custody licence.
	Data for 1997 and 1998 are not available.
	For those prisoners discharged between 1999 and 2008 having been sentenced to three months, the amount of time served is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   One week or less  Six weeks or less  Over six weeks and less than three months( 1)  Three months  Total 
			 1999 10 3,600 4,100 20 7,700 
			 2000 10 3,700 4,000 10 7,800 
			 2001 20 3,500 3,700 20 7,200 
			 2002 20 3,800 3,200 30 7,000 
			 2003 20 3,500 3,100 50 6,600 
			 2004 20 3,100 3,300 50 6,500 
			 2005 20 2,100 3,300 50 5,400 
			 2006 10 1,200 3,300 70 4,600 
			 2007 10 1,300 3,000 90 4,300 
			 2008 10 700 3,200 80 3,900 
			 (1) Around 90 per cent. of prisoners in the over six weeks and less than three months category have served within two to three days of exactly six weeks. 
		
	
	For those prisoners discharged between 1999 and 2008 having been sentenced to six months, the amount of time served is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Six weeks or less  Over six weeks and up including to three months  Over three months and less than six months  Six months  Total 
			 1999 80 6,400 1,000 10 7,500 
			 2000 90 6,500 1,000 10 7,600 
			 2001 80 6,300 1,000 20 7,400 
			 2002 120 6,400 800 10 7,400 
			 2003 170 6,200 600 10 7,000 
			 2004 110 6,200 600 10 6,900 
			 2005 60 5,500 600 10 6,100 
			 2006 50 4,900 600 10 5,500 
			 2007 70 5,000 600 10 5,700 
			 2008 60 5,000 590 20 5,700 
		
	
	Numbers below 1,000 have been rounded to the nearest 10. Numbers over 1,000 have been rounded to the nearest 100.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Young Offenders: Education

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent on the provision of educational courses for offenders serving custodial sentences in the latest 12 month period for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: Offender Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) in England on 31 July 2006. OLASS funds the delivery of skills for offenders (aged 15 and over) held in English Public Sector prisons for both sentenced prisoners and those held on remand.
	The allocation for the provision of education for prisoners aged 15 to 17 in public sector young offender institutions in England in the academic year 2008/09 was £19.4 million. The allocation for adult prisoners (post 18) held in English Public Sector prisons for the academic year 2008/09 was £142 million.
	In Wales, from April 2006, commissioning responsibilities for offender learning and skills provision became the responsibility of Director of Offender Management in Wales. The allocation for adult prisoners held in Welsh Public Sector prisons for the academic year 2008/09 was £2.3 million. Responsibilities for learning and skills provision for those in custody in Wales transferred to the Welsh Assembly Government with effect from 1 April 2009.

Young Offenders: Education

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what language courses are offered to offenders serving custodial sentences.

Maria Eagle: Courses in French, German, Spanish, British Sign Language and English for speakers of other languages are offered through the Learning and Skills Council's Offender Learning and Skills Service to offenders in English Public Sector prisons. During the last 12 months, offenders in custody have studied Open University courses in French, German, Spanish and Italian.
	In Wales, taught courses are available in English Literature and Language, along with Welsh, French and German in some prisons. Self study and distance learning are also available for a variety of languages as requested.
	The central aim of the Offenders' Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) is to improve each offender's chances of gaining sustainable employment, thus contributing to a reduction in re-offending rates. Having the right skills and qualifications has a positive impact on offenders' well-being and ability to adopt a positive role in society. Learning also has an intrinsic value in its own right-and some learning has the effect of stimulating and encouraging participation and further learning. Language teaching and learning has this engaging and progression supporting effect-and in some cases direct employability impacts.

Young Offenders: Sentencing

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent on  (a) custodial and  (b) community sentences for people under the age of 18 years resident in each Youth Offending Team area in the last five years for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: The Youth Justice Board (YJB) has responsibility for purchasing all the places within the secure estate for children and young people. The requested information is not recorded centrally by YOT area.
	Community sentences for those aged under 18 are provided by Youth Offending Teams (YOTs). YOTs are funded from a range of central and local sources and data are not collected centrally on what proportion of this funding is spent on community sentences

Youth Custody

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many children aged 10 to 17 years were given a custodial sentence after pleading guilty to a first time offence in each of the last three years.

Maria Eagle: The following table shows the number of offenders under 18, with no previous reprimand, warning or conviction, who received an immediate custodial sentence in the three years 2006-07 to 2008-09. Data on guilty pleas in relation to first offenders are not available. These figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.
	
		
			   First-time under-18 offenders receiving custodial sentence 
			 2006-07 374 
			 2007-08 396 
			 2008-09 377

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Caparo Group

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department holds any contracts with any of the companies forming part of the Caparo Group.

Joan Ruddock: The Department of Energy and Climate Change does not hold any contracts with any of the companies forming part of the Caparo Group.

Carbon Sequestration

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what projects to deploy carbon capture and storage technology are taking part in the competition for funding for this technology.

Joan Ruddock: There are two projects taking part in the current competition launched in 2007 to support a commercial-scale demonstration of carbon capture and storage technology on a coal fired power station. Eon and Scottish Power are each leading the project.

Carbon Sequestration

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many projects to deploy carbon capture and storage technology have expressed an interest to his Department in being part of the competition for funding for this technology.

Joan Ruddock: There were nine bids in the pre-qualification stage in the current demonstration competition launched in 2007.

Climate Change

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what agreements were made at the G8 Summit in L'Aquila on energy and climate change related matters.

Joan Ruddock: The energy and climate change agreements made at the G8 summit in L'Aquila can be found in the G8 Communiqué entitled 'Responsible Leadership For A Sustainable Future', accessible electronically at:
	http://www.g8italia2009.it/static/G8_Allegato/G8_Declaration_08_07_09_final,0.pdf
	The relevant paragraphs are: 39-44, 60-93.

Coal Authority: Cap Gemini

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the monetary value of contracts between the Coal Authority and Cap Gemini  (a) was in each of the last five financial years and  (b) is in 2009-10.

David Kidney: Expenditure under the Coal Authority's contract with Capgemini over the last five financial years was as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2004-05 2.7 
			 2005-06 2.6 
			 2006-07 2.9 
			 2007-08 2.7 
			 2008-09 2.5 
		
	
	In 2009-10 contractual payments will be an estimated £2.6 million.

Coal Authority: Information and Communications Technology

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells of 12 October 2009,  Official Report, columns 459-60W, on departmental ICT, which companies tendered to deliver the Coal Authority's Inferis IT project.

David Kidney: Three companies tendered to deliver the Coal Authority's Inferis IT project. They were Capgemini, Mouchel Management Consulting Ltd. and SciSys UK Ltd.

Coal Authority: Information and Communications Technology

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells of 12 October 2009,  Official Report, columns 459-60W, on departmental ICT, if he will place in the Library a copy of the invitation to tender issued in respect of the Coal Authority's Inferis IT project.

David Kidney: A copy will be placed in the Library of the House.

Departmental Buildings

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells of 12 October 2009,  Official Report, column 456W, on departmental buildings, on what date the move of his Department's staff into 3 Whitehall Place was completed.

Joan Ruddock: The first phase of the moves of 973 Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) staff was completed on weekend 6-7 June 2009. 23 DECC staff currently remain in 1 Victoria street for business reasons and are expected to move into 3 Whitehall Place in April 2010.

Energy: Housing

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on what date he expects the first Pay as You Save pilot to commence.

Joan Ruddock: The Home Energy Pay As You Save pilot projects will be announced shortly. Work on the pilot projects will begin immediately following that announcement. We expect the first properties to receive measures in the new year.

Energy: Housing

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households he expects to be included in the Pay as You Save pilots in  (a) 2009-10,  (b) 2010-11 and  (c) subsequent years.

Joan Ruddock: We anticipate up to 500 households being involved in the Home Energy PAYS pilots, the actual number will depend on the level of investment required for each property. Retrofitting these properties will be undertaken over the financial year 2009-10 and 2010-11. The capital funding for the pilots ends in April 2011 and therefore no further households will be included after that date.

Energy: Housing

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects to announce the locations at which the first Pay as You Save pilots announced in Low Carbon Transition Plan will take place.

Joan Ruddock: The Home Energy Pay As You Save pilot projects will be announced shortly.

Energy: Housing

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what role his Department plans for local authorities in the Pay as You Save pilots announced in the Low Carbon Transition Plan.

Joan Ruddock: One of the objectives for the Home Energy PAYS pilots is to test consumer attitudes and preferences to elements of the Pay As You Save model. We are looking for at least one of the projects to include the local authority as the billing route and the major delivery partner.

Environment Protection: ICT

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the environment of adopting environmentally-friendly ICT policies across all Government departments.

Dawn Butler: I have been asked to reply.
	In September 2009 the Government published Greening Government ICT-Efficient, Sustainable, Responsible a one-year-on progress report which assesses the Government's Green ICT strategy. This was committed to by all Government Departments.
	The report is available at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media270265/1_year_on.pdf

Fuel Poverty

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what requirement the Government puts on energy supply companies to include a benefits health check in their fuel poverty reduction programmes.

David Kidney: There is no requirement in the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) or the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) for energy suppliers to provide benefit entitlement checks.
	Warm Front is the Government's flagship programme for tackling fuel poverty in the private sector. All Warm Front applicants, whether initially eligible for the scheme or not, are offered a benefit entitlement check.
	In 2008-09 Warm Front completed over 78,000 benefit entitlement checks. A new or an additional eligible benefit was identified in 45 per cent. of cases, resulting in an average weekly increase in household income of £31 per applicant.
	Equivalent schemes in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are the responsibility of the devolved Administrations.

Fuel Poverty: Health

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the effects of fuel poverty on health.

David Kidney: The Government recognise the effects of fuel poverty on health and has a strong package of measures to tackle the three root causes: poor energy efficiency, high fuel prices and low household income. It has not carried out a detailed assessment of the impacts of fuel poverty on health,
	Since 2000, over £20 billion has been spent on a range of benefits and programmes to tackle fuel poverty. Improving the energy efficiency of a home is key to assisting those at risk from the cold and the Government have a number of established and new initiatives such as Warm Front, the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target and the Community Energy Savings Programme to help. We improve the income of vulnerable households through winter fuel and cold weather payments alongside the wider tax and benefit system and look at ways to cut the cost of energy that is supplied to them through a robust system of regulation aiming to protect all consumers. The recently introduced Energy Bill will set a framework for schemes that will require energy suppliers to provide a specified level of social price support (direct assistance with energy bills) to more of the most vulnerable customers.
	Each year the Department of Health launches its Keep Warm, Keep Well campaign, offering important advice to older people on how to stay fit and healthy through the winter. The Department of Health's involvement in four major health related campaigns to target Warm Front grants increased referral numbers over the previous year by around 8 per cent. In addition, their seasonal flu vaccination programme is one of the most successful in Europe.

KBR

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department has entered into any contracts with Kellogg, Brown and Root or its subsidiaries since January 2009.

Joan Ruddock: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has not entered into any contracts with Kellogg, Brown and Root or its subsidiaries since January 2009.

Local Government: Carbon Emissions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions attributable to the Carbon Trust's local authority carbon management programme in each year of the programme.

Joan Ruddock: The Carbon Trust's public sector carbon management programme began in 2003-04 and I am informed by the trust that to date 236 local authorities have participated.
	CO2 emission reductions to date for each year of the programme are set out in the following table. The Carbon Trust inform me that they expect that implemented savings from the two most recent years, 2007-08 and 2008-09, will exceed the carbon savings implemented in earlier years but that there is a time lag in actual implementation which has resulted in the lower levels of savings made to date.
	
		
			  Financial Year  Sum of lifetime carbon savings implemented to date  (tCO2) 
			 2004-05 369,896 
			 2005-06 271,198 
			 2006-07 504,589 
			 2007-08 359,649 
			 2008-09 107,684 
			 Total 1,613,016

Renewable Energy: Developing Countries

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in  (a) Bangladesh,  (b) Ethiopia,  (c) India,  (d) Kenya and  (e) Nepal on technology transfer to enable those countries to harness renewable energy and to combat climate change.

Joan Ruddock: The Government are pushing for an ambitious, effective and fair agreement at the 15th Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen that will drive the development of climate technologies and their deployment in developing countries.
	Ministers from the Department of Energy and Climate Change have met with Ministers from Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Kenya and Nepal at international meetings throughout the last year to discuss these and related issues. The Secretary of State also visited India and Bangladesh in September, to see the impacts of climate change at first hand and meet with counterparts to discuss climate change and renewable energy.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan and Pakistan: Overseas Aid

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the Prime Minister's Statement of 30 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 831-54, on Afghanistan and Pakistan, what programmes funded by his Department are expected to  (a) create 20,000 jobs in 2009 and  (b) raise the incomes of 200,000 people by 2013; on what basis each estimate was arrived at; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) has recently launched a £36 million, four-year programme called Supporting Employment and Enterprise Development (SEED), which aims to create 20,000 jobs and raise the incomes of 200,000 people by 2013.
	SEED expects to create 20,000 jobs as follows:
	Jobs created from lending to small and medium sized enterprises: 2,000
	Jobs created through vocational training: 3,000
	Jobs created through support to the World Bank's Afghanistan Rural Enterprise Development Programme (AREDP): 10,000
	Jobs created through the new challenge fund: 5,000
	SEED expects to raise the incomes of 200,000 people as follows:
	Incomes improved through AREDP interventions: 100,000
	Individuals who benefit from improved business practices and hence increased incomes as a result of challenge fund support: 100,000

Afghanistan: Overseas Aid

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding the Government have provided  (a) as aid and  (b) for reconstruction in Afghanistan in each year since 2007.

Douglas Alexander: Most Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Afghanistan is managed by the Department for International Development (DFID) and used to support the Afghan Government to deliver essential services such as health and education, promote economic growth, address the humanitarian situation, and undertake large infrastructure projects in Helmand province. DFID's budget was £108.9 million in 2007-08, £143 million in 2008-09, and £127.5 million in 2009-10.
	In addition, a proportion of DFID's contributions to multilateral organisations were spent in Afghanistan. £33.1 million was spent this way in 2007-8. Figures for later years are not yet available.
	DFID, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Ministry of Defence(MOD) also have access to the Stabilisation Aid Fund (SAF), which seeks to promote political settlement and undertake reconstruction after conflict, particularly in Helmand province. The SAF budget was £28.4 million in 2007-08, £53 million in 2008-09, and £68 million this year.
	Details of Gross Public Expenditure on development are published in Statistics on International Development and available online at
	www.dfid.gov.uk

Afghanistan: Reconstruction

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support he is giving to the Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund to improve the energy infrastructure in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: Since 2003, the Department for International Development (DFID) has contributed £38.5 million to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund to support the National Solidarity Programme (NSP), which funds projects developed by local communities themselves. Approximately 17 per cent. of NSP funding has been used for small-scale energy infrastructure projects.

Afghanistan: Reconstruction

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to improve public access to reliable electricity in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) is co-financing the rehabilitation of the Gereshk hydropower plant and associated transmission and distribution system in Helmand province. On completion, the project is expected to increase the supply and reliability of electricity to around 200,000 people.
	Since 2003, DFID has also contributed £38.5 million to the National Solidarity Programme (NSP) which funds projects developed by local communities themselves. Approximately 17 per cent. of NSP funding has been used for small-scale energy infrastructure projects.

Afghanistan: Reconstruction

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made on the refurbishment of the Gereshk hydropower plant in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The refurbishment of the Gereshk hydropower plant is proceeding according to schedule. The detailed design period is now complete. Through the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Helmand, a competitive tender for the upgrade of the 2.5 km access road to the plant has been won by a local Afghan contractor. We are also designing two police checkpoints to be positioned along the access road to improve site security.
	The next step is to conclude co-financing arrangements with our investment partners, the Asian Development Bank and the Embassy of Denmark. This agreement will be followed in early 2010 by procurement for civil, mechanical and electrical contracts.

Afghanistan: Reconstruction

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made in the provision of electricity networks and supply throughout Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: Information relating to progress made in the provision of electricity networks and supply throughout Afghanistan is published on the website of the Afghan Energy Information Center (AIEC) at:
	http://www.afghaneic.org/index.html

Africa: Overseas Aid

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what role his Department is playing in the implementation of the Nile Basin Initiative.

Gareth Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) plays an active role in support of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) along with the World Bank and other development partners. We have contributed £13.7 million. We separately provide finance to help civil society organisations engage with the initiative through the Nile Basin Discourse.

Departmental Official Cars

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of providing official cars for the use of  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in the last 12 months.

Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement about the cost of ministerial cars made by the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, the hon. Member for Gillingham (Paul Clark) on 16 July 2009,  Official Report, columns 79-80WS.
	For the cost of cars to officials, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, the hon. Member for Gillingham (Paul Clark) on 2 December 2009,  Official Report, column 762W.

Departmental Security

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many security passes his Department has issued to contractors providing consultancy services in the last 12 months.

Douglas Alexander: All consultants who require access to a Department for International Development (DFID) office, whether they are providing consultancy or other services, are issued with a temporary security pass after security clearance procedures have been completed. Those contractors providing services without a need to work in a DFID office are not issued a security pass. Disaggregating the number of security passes issued to contractors providing consultancy services in the last 12 months would incur disproportionate costs.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Alternative Curriculum

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps are being taken to ensure that local authorities have information about third sector providers of alternative curriculum provision for excluded children or those at risk of exclusion; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Since the Department published the Back on Track White Paper in May 2008, we have carried out a determined programme of work to improve the quality of alternative provision and access to it.
	In October 2008, we published guidance on commissioning alternative provision, covering how local authorities and schools can identify providers able to meet the needs of pupils who require alternative provision. At the same time, we launched an online directory of alternative providers across England which gives local authorities and schools ready access to information on almost 400 providers. The directory had approximately 29,700 hits between 1 January 2009 and 23 November 2009.
	The Department has also run trade fairs for alternative providers across England, giving them the opportunity to inform potential commissioners of their services. We have also established pilots to explore a range of innovative ways of delivering alternative provision, supported by up to £26.5 million over 2008-11. Of these 12 pilots, nine involve third sector providers.

Building Schools for the Future Programme: Asbestos

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools in the Building Schools for the Future programme have had an asbestos survey as part of their redevelopment; in how many such schools was asbestos found; and from how many such schools asbestos was removed.

Vernon Coaker: Information on the number of schools in the Building Schools for the Future programme that have had an asbestos survey; whether asbestos was found; and whether it was removed is not held centrally. Local authorities are responsible for managing the process and hold this information.

Children: Databases

Phil Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate has been made of the amount of savings in practitioner time as a result of the introduction of ContactPoint.

Dawn Primarolo: A principal benefit of ContactPoint will be freed up unproductive time, previously spent by frontline staff in trying to identify and then contact other practitioners who are involved with a child. We estimate conservatively that ContactPoint will save five million practitioner hours, equivalent to £88 million a year, once all projected users are engaged. This means that practitioners can spend more time working with children and families and less time on administration activities.

Children: Databases

Phil Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much is expected to be spent on the ContactPoint directory in each of the five years from June 2010.

Dawn Primarolo: The expected expenditure on ContactPoint in each of the next five years from June 2010 is as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Set up  Operating  Total 
			 June 2010 to March 2011 21.7 29.2 50.9 
			 April 2011 to March 2012 2.4 40.6 43.0 
			 April 2012 to March 2013 0.0 41.0 41.0 
			 April 2013 to March 2014 0.0 41.0 41.0 
			 April 2014 to March 2015 0.0 41.0 41.0 
			 April 2015 to May 2015 0.0 10.3 10.3 
			 Total 24.1 203.1 227.2

Citizenship and History: Secondary Education

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of pupils at maintained mainstream schools at the end of Key Stage 4 took examinations in  (a) citizenship but not history,  (b) history but not citizenship,  (c) citizenship and history and  (d) neither history nor citizenship in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: The information required is given in the following table.
	The figures relate to entries in full GCSE history and the GCSE short course in citizenship. A full GCSE in citizenship course only started in September 2009 and information on entries to this course are not yet available.
	
		
			   Pupils entered into GCSE short course in citizenship only  Pupils entered into GCSE full course in history only  Pupils entered into both  Pupils entered for neither 
			   Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 2005 23,657 4.1 169,164 29.4 11,563 2.0 370,298 64.4 
			 2006 33,332 5.7 167,070 28.6 16,988 2.9 366,979 62.8 
			 2007 44,859 7.6 158,828 26.9 21,347 3.6 365,754 61.9 
			 2008 57,382 9.8 154,189 26.2 26,015 4.4 350,633 59.6 
			 2009 61,981 10.9 145,979 25.7 28,433 5.0 332,394 58.4 
			  Note: Figures for 2009 are provisional.  Source: Achievement and Attainment Tables data. 
		
	
	Figures relate to pupils at the end of key stage 4 in maintained mainstream schools (includes academies and CTCs).

Departmental Advertising

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department's predecessor spent on advertising in 2006-07; how much his Department has so spent in 2009-10; and if he will make a statement.

Diana Johnson: The media total for advertising in 2006-07 was £6,573,885. In 2009-10 so far, the spend to date has been £4,260,609. This information was attained from the Central Office of Information where the information is centrally held.

Departmental Legal Costs

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the  (a) cost and  (b) purpose was of legal (i) representation and (ii) advice sought by his Department and its agencies in each year since May 1997.

Diana Johnson: The purpose of legal representation is to ensure that the Secretary of State is represented before a court or tribunal where a decision is under challenge. The purpose of legal advice is to enable the Department to operate effectively within the law and develop legislation to deliver its policies, minimising legal risk and achieving best legal outcomes.
	There are no centrally held figures for the costs of legal representation in the Department for Children, Schools and Families, and its predecessors, the Department for Education and Employment, and the Department for Education and Skills.

Departmental Legislation

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what criminal offences have been  (a) abolished and  (b) created by primary legislation sponsored by his Department since 1 May 2008.

Diana Johnson: Primary legislation sponsored by the Department for Children, Schools and Families since 1 May 2008 has created and abolished a number of criminal offences. These are detailed in the following table:
	
		
			  Legislative reference  Offence 
			  (a) Criminal offences abolished  
			  Education and Skills Act 2008  
			 Schedule 2 Repeals offence of wilfully obstructing an inspection in section 118 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000. 
			 Schedule 2 Repeals offence of disclosing social security information in section 119 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000. 
			 Schedules 1 and 2 Abolishes the offence in section 159 of the Education Act 2002 of conducting an unregistered independent school in relation to independent schools in England only. 
			 Schedules 1 and 2 Repeals section 162B of the Education Act 2002 (including the offence to intentionally obstruct a person in the exercise of his functions in relation to an inspection under that section). 
			 Schedules 1 and 2 Abolishes the offence in section 164 of the Education Act 2002 of obstructing a person in the exercise of his functions in relation to an inspection under that section (in relation to independent schools in England only). 
			 Schedules 1 and 2 Abolishes the offence in section 165 of the Education Act 2002 of failing to comply with an order under that section in relation to independent schools in England only. 
			 Schedules 1 and 2 Abolishes the offence in section 167 of the Education Act 2002 of failing to comply with an order under that section in relation to independent schools in England only. 
			   
			  Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009  
			 Schedule 16 Repeals offence of disclosing social security information in section 15 of the Education and Skills Act 2008. 
			   
			  (b) Criminal offences created  
			  Children and Young Persons Act 2008  
			 Section 26 Offence of failing to take the steps specified in a compliance notice within the period so specified under section 22A(4) of the Care Standards Act 2000 
			   
			  Education and Skills Act 2008  
			 Section 15 Offence to disclose social security information otherwise than in the circumstances specified in section 15. 
			 Section 51 Offence for a person to fail to comply with the requirements of an attendance notice. 
			 Section 75 Offence for anyone to wilfully obstruct a person in carrying out, or participating in, an inspection of connexions services provided under s68 and 74. 
			 Section 76 Offence to disclose social security information otherwise than in the circumstances specified in that section. (Offence amended by section 254 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009). 
			 Section 90 Offence for a person to disclose information otherwise than for a purpose within sections 87 or 88 where disclosure reveals identity of a person. 
			 Section 96 Offence for a person to conduct an independent educational institution in England unless it is registered. 
			 Section 97 Offence to intentionally obstruct a person in the exercise of the person's functions in relation to an inspection under that section. 
			 Section 110 Offence to intentionally obstruct a person in the exercise of the person's function in relation to an inspection under that section. 
			 Section 118 Failure of a proprietor of an independent educational institution to comply with a relevant restriction imposed by the Secretary of State under section 116. 
			 Section 121 Failure of a proprietor of an independent educational institution to comply with a relevant restriction imposed by an order of a justice of the peace under section 120. 
			 Section 127 Failure of a proprietor of an independent educational institution to comply with a relevant restriction imposed by the Tribunal under sections 124, 125 or 126. 
			   
			  Welfare Reform Act 2009  
			 Schedule 6 Extends section 36 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 regarding the failure to answer any question put by the registrar in relation to the particulars required to be registered, or failure to comply with any requirement of the registrar, to include questions and requirements made by regulations under sections 2C, 2D, 2E, 10B or 10C of that Act. 
			 Schedule 6 Refusal or failure (without reasonable excuse) to do anything within a particular time which is required by regulations under sections 2C, 2D, 2E, 10B or 10C of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953. 
			 Schedule 6 Extends section 4 of the Perjury Act 1911 regarding the provision of false statements etc. as to births or deaths. 
			   
			  Apprenticeship, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009  
			 Section 199 Inserts Part 3A into the Childcare Act 2006. Offence for a person to intentionally obstruct a person from exercising a power under section 98D. Section 98D provides a power for Chief Inspectors to enter Children's centres. 
			 Section 210 Offence to obstruct a Local Commissioner or those assisting him in the performance of his functions under Chapter 2.

Family and Parent Institute: Finance

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much money his Department and its predecessors have spent on supporting the Family and Parent Institute in each year since 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Family and Parenting Institute have a long-standing relationship with the Department. Since 2005, the Family and Parenting Institute have received funding support through a strategic grant from The Strengthening Families (SFG) Grant programme (2005/06) and The Children, Young People and Families (CYPF) Grant programme (2006/07 to 2009/10). The CYPF is a national programme to fund work by the third sector to improve outcomes for children, young people and families.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005/06 783,000 
			 2006/07 850,000 
			 2007/08 935,000 
			 2008/09 1,038,000 
			 2009/10 1,115,000

GCSE

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which secondary schools are in each decile of the numbers of students achieving five GCSEs at grades A* to C including English and mathematics in the latest period for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: The request is essentially for a list of all English secondary schools ordered into deciles. The main way school level information is published is in the secondary school achievement and attainment tables on the Department's website at the following link:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/performancetables/schools_08.shtml
	A user-friendly Excel version of school level data, from which rankings and deciles of all schools can be derived, has also been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	The 2009 secondary school achievement and attainment tables will be published in January 2010.

GCSE

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of 16-year-olds did not achieve five GCSEs at grades A* to C in  (a) England,  (b) the North East and  (c) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in the latest period for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: The following table gives the percentage of pupils, in their last year of compulsory education who did not gain five or more GCSEs at A*-C and equivalent.
	
		
			  Percentage of pupils( 1)  not gaining five or more GCSE at A*-C and equivalent, 2007/08 
			  Area  Percentage 
			 England and Wales(2) 35.1 
			 England(2) 34.7 
			 North East(3) 33.6 
			 Middlesbrough and South East Cleveland(3) 40.8 
			 (1) In England pupils at the end of key stage 4, in Wales pupils aged 15 at the start of the academic year. (2) All schools. (3) Maintained schools only.

GCSE: Young Offenders

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of females of school age in custody gained five GCSEs at grade A* to C in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: No females aged under 18 in HM Prison Service Young Offender Institutions achieved a GCSE at grade A* to C while in custody in the 2007/08 academic year.
	The data above refer only to achievements that were secured by young females who took the examination while they were in custody. Those who were released before the examination date may have continued study and taken examinations in the community.
	Some young people in young offender institutions are still registered at schools and colleges in the community and therefore any GCSEs that they achieve while in custody will be reflected in the achievement figures of their respective school or college.
	The female population aged under 18 in HM Prison Service Young Offender Institutions was on average 65 females under 18 in custody in 2006/07 and an average of 65 in 2007/08.
	HM Prison Service Young Offender Institutions make up part of the custodial estate for under-18s and achievements of GCSEs in secure children's homes, secure training centres, or private prisons are not recorded centrally.

Home Education

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children of school age are registered as receiving home education in each education authority in  (a) Wales and  (b) England.

Diana Johnson: There are no registration arrangements for children receiving home education in England so we do not hold this information. The total number of electively home educated children known to the 74 local authorities that provided a response to Graham Badman's supplementary data request in September can be found at
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters/ete/independentreviewofhomeeducation/irhomeeducation/.
	Home education in Wales is a matter for the Welsh Assembly Government.

National Curriculum Tests

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the cost to the public purse of standard assessment tests was in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: The Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency's (QCDA) estimates of the costs of delivering the national curriculum tests for Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 in each of the last five years are as follows:-
	
		
			  £ thousand 
			   Total cost of NCT 
			 2008-09 21,755 
			 2007-08 50,570 
			 2006-07 51,559 
			 2005-06 51,743 
			 2004-05 43,828 
		
	
	Statutory Key Stage 3 national curriculum tests have been discontinued and were not administered in 2009. Costs quoted for the 2008-09 financial year are net of the £19,500,000.00 cash settlement received by QCDA, following termination of the test operations contract with ETS Global BV (ETS) in 2008.

Pupil Exclusions

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of children who have been excluded or at risk of exclusion from school who are subsequently classified as not in education, employment or training; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the causes of exclusion of children from school; what recent steps his Department has taken as a consequence of that assessment; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: We accept that a significant minority of excluded pupils can go on to be not in education, employment or training (NEET). We also know that exclusions are now at their lowest ever level since 1997/98, with permanent exclusions dropping 6.4 per cent. between 2006/07 and 2007/08.
	We support heads when taking the tough decision to exclude. It is right that head teachers should use their powers to exclude disruptive pupils when this is in the interests of other pupils. However, our focus must be on preventing bad behaviour from degenerating to the point where exclusion-and particularly permanent exclusion-is necessary.
	Data on school exclusion are collected through the school census and published annually. The latest data were published as SFR 18/2009 Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions from Schools in England 2007/08 which can be accessed at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000860/index.shtml.
	Table 9 gives a breakdown of the reasons for exclusion. Persistent disruptive behaviour was the most common reason for exclusion, representing 30.9 per cent. of permanent exclusion and 23.2 per cent. of fixed period exclusion.
	Good behaviour is fundamental to school standards, and Ofsted recently reported (24 November) that 80 per cent. of secondary schools are good or outstanding on behaviour, up from 72 per cent. in 2007/08. In September my Department launched a Behaviour Challenge with an ambition that, by 2012, all schools will have a good or outstanding Ofsted rating on behaviour or be on track to achieve one. Support and challenge will be provided to schools through local authorities, the National Strategies, and School Improvement Partners. We have also asked National Strategies colleagues to support local authorities with high exclusion rates, and high rates of multiple fixed period exclusion, to help their schools increase the use of early intervention to improve behaviour and minimise the need for exclusion.
	We are making all 16 and 17-year-olds an offer of suitable place in learning through the September Guarantee. My Department has asked local authorities to focus in particular on those who are disengaged from education or missing school. The 14-19 curriculum reforms are creating a range of different learning opportunities suit all young people, including those who need help to re-engage in learning. Connexions services provide tailored support and advice, both on accessing education, employment or training, and on personal issues.
	My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced on 18 November plans to extend the guarantee to any 16 and 17-year-old who is not in education, employment or training (NEET) in January. This will give those who were not ready to engage in learning in September, or who have since left, a further opportunity to get the skills they need to succeed.
	The Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act, 2009 introduced tough statutory disciplinary powers to strengthen teachers' rights to punish bad behaviour in and out of the classroom. These include a strong statutory power to punish pupils in school and en route to and from school; a statutory power to reasonably confiscate mobiles or music players used disruptively; and reaffirming powers to use physical force to break up fights and restrain pupils. The Act also introduced a duty for schools to work together in partnership to improve behaviour and reduce absence.

Pupil Exclusions

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average length of a fixed-period exclusion for pupils from  (a) primary,  (b) secondary and  (c) all schools was in the last 12 months.

Diana Johnson: The latest available data on the average length of fixed period exclusions for the 2007/08 academic year are published at
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000860/index.shtml Table 5.
	Data for 2008/09 are expected to be published in July

Pupils: Abuse

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what guidelines his Department provides to teachers who suspect abuse or maltreatment of a pupil on action to be taken in such circumstances.

Dawn Primarolo: Guidelines on the actions that anyone, including a teacher, should take if they have concerns about abuse or maltreatment of a child are set out in What to do if you are Worried a Child is being Abused. This practice guidance tells people about the procedures to follow when passing on concerns and what will then happen. Guidance on the wider responsibilities of local authorities and governing bodies of schools and FE colleges in relation to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is contained in Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education.

Pupils: Per Capita Costs

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his most recent estimate is of the average annual cost of educating a secondary school child in a pupil referral unit in  (a) England and  (b) each local authority area.

Vernon Coaker: The Department published the White Paper Back on Track in May 2008 setting out proposals to transform the quality of alternative provision, including pupil referral units. At that time, we estimated a cost of around £15,000 a year for a full-time placement in a pupil referral unit. Pupil numbers in pupil referral units can be volatile and the calculation was based on pupil numbers at a fixed point in time. This may not be fully representative of the average number of pupils over a year.
	We have not made any further estimates since that time, and the figure has not been broken down by local authority area. The figure is likely to vary considerably between different local authority areas.

Pupils: Weapons

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what record his Department maintains relating to the number of pupils who, following a search, were found to be in the possession of  (a) a knife,  (b) another weapon and  (c) drugs on school premises;
	(2)  how many pupils in England were found to be in the possession of  (a) a weapon and  (b) drugs on school premises in each of the last three years.

Vernon Coaker: The Department does not record the number of pupils found to be in possession of a knife, other weapon, or drugs, whether following a search or otherwise.
	In 2007 we gave head teachers the power to search, without consent, any pupil suspected of carrying a knife or other offensive weapon. Schools can also screen pupils at random or search with consent. However, we do not require schools to tell us when such an article has been found. They should inform the police, to whom they must pass the article.
	We have recently extended the power to search without consent so that schools can search pupils without consent for illegal drugs (and for alcohol and stolen property) with effect from September 2010.

Schools: Finance

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average funding per capita was for  (a) urban areas and  (b) rural areas under dedicated schools grant in the latest period for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: The latest figures available are shown in the following table below (2007-08). Figures for 2008-09 are still to be collected and validated by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.
	
		
			  Comb ined local authority and school- based expenditure per pupil ,( 1)  2007-08: Cash terms figures as reported by local authorities in England as at 23 November 2009( 2,3) 
			   Total combined LEA and school-based expenditure( 1)  (£ per pupil) 
			 England 5,050 
			   
			 Predominantly urban local authorities(2) 5,040 
			 Predominantly rural local authorities(2) 5,110 
			 1. Combined local authority and school-based expenditure includes all expenditure on the education of children in local authority maintained establishments and pupils educated by the authority other than in maintained establishments. This includes both school-based expenditure and all elements of central LA expenditure except youth and community and capital expenditure from revenue (CERA). Certain elements of central local authority expenditure cannot be attributed to a particular phase of education and consequently a sector breakdown is not available. Pupil figures include all pre-primary pupils, including those under-5s funded by the authority and being educated in private settings, pupils educated in maintained mainstream schools and any other local authority maintained pupils. All pupil numbers are adjusted to be on a financial year basis.  2. The classification of local authorities into those which are predominately urban and predominately rural is based upon The Rural and Urban Area Classification (2004) sponsored by the Countryside Agency (CA), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Office for National Statistics (ONS), the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) and the Welsh Assembly Government. Predominantly rural local authorities are classified as those which consist of more than 50 per cent. rural Output Areas.  3. Figures are rounded to the nearest £10.

Schools: Herefordshire

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding was provided per child under the dedicated schools grant in Herefordshire in 2009-10.

Vernon Coaker: The guaranteed funding per pupil for Herefordshire for 2009-10 is £3,830. The amount of dedicated schools grant that local authorities receive is dependent on the number of pupils on roll. Herefordshire has received just over £87 million for 2009-10.

Schools: Rural Areas

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what funding is provided towards other educational programmes for rural areas other than through the dedicated schools grant.

Vernon Coaker: Local authorities are responsible for the distribution of funding (including funding provided through the dedicated schools grant (DSG)) to schools in their area. The overall DSG settlement for 2009-10 is £29.6 billion and of this settlement £194.87 million is notionally for sparsity. This funding is allocated to rural authorities in recognition that they need small schools which are more expensive to run. The Department does not provide additional education funding outside of the DSG specifically for rural areas.

Schools: Standards

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools were given notices to improve by Ofsted in  (a) September,  (b) October,  (c) November and  (d) December 2008.

Vernon Coaker: The following table gives the requested information:
	
		
			  Schools given a notice to improve by Ofsted during autumn term 2008 
			  2008  Number 
			 September 11 
			 October 16 
			 November 18 
			 December 7 
			 Total for term 52

Secondary Education: Gloucestershire

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families who is responsible for the implementation in Gloucestershire of the recommendations made in the report of the Badman review of secondary education.

Diana Johnson: It is the responsibility of Gloucestershire local authority to implement the recommendations made in the report of the Badman review of the National Challenge.

Secondary Education: Outdoor Education

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what research his Department has undertaken into a link between the uptake of fieldwork in secondary schools and the number of post-16 students taking science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to increase the uptake of fieldwork by pupils in secondary schools.

Diana Johnson: The Department has not commissioned research to examine the link between take up of fieldwork in secondary schools and the number of post-16 students taking science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects.
	The Government are doing much to increase the take up of fieldwork by pupils in secondary schools. This includes:
	Contracting with the Association for Science Education to run a support programme to improve the use of practical work in science across secondary schools.
	Sending Practical Work in Science booklets to all secondary schools which include good examples of fieldwork activity.
	Continuing to fund the National Network of Science Learning Centres to provide continuing professional development opportunities for teachers including those that support the use of fieldwork across all stage of the curriculum.
	Publishing the STEM directory of science enhancement and enrichment activities which lists a vast range of activities, including fieldwork related ones, that schools can access to enliven science teaching and learning.
	Developing online resources and guidance through Government funding for the Action Plan for Geography, which is managed by the Royal Geographical Society and the Geographical Association to help teachers with fieldwork. These are available on the Geography Teaching Today website which includes a virtual fieldwork and local learning centre to help teachers make the most of geography in their local areas. This includes expert advice and planning on embedding fieldwork in the curriculum.
	The Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto which was launched in November 2006 and aims to provide all young people with quality learning experiences outside the classroom covering the whole curriculum. This is made explicit in the new secondary curriculum which also provides that practical and enquiry skills are something that pupils need to learn to make progress in their science and geography learning.

Teachers: Pay

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of teachers and teaching staff in maintained schools earn more than £50,000 per annum.

Vernon Coaker: In March 2008, an estimated 30,000 full-time qualified teachers employed in local authority maintained schools in England and Wales earned £50,000 or more per annum. This is 8 per cent. of the total number.
	The source of the salary information is the Database of Teacher Records (DTR) and is provisional. Overall teacher numbers from the Annual Survey of Teachers in Service and Teacher Vacancies, 618g and the Welsh Stats 3 survey were apportioned by the information from the DTR to provide the estimate of the numbers of teachers receiving these salaries.

Teachers: South East

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) teachers and  (b) classroom assistants were employed in each local education authority area in the South East in each year since 1997.

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) teachers and  (b) classroom assistants were employed in maintained schools in each local authority in the South East in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested for 1997, 2001 to 2009 is published in tables 19 and 26 of the Statistical First Release (SFR) School Workforce in England (including Local Authority level figures) January 2009 (Revised) published on 29 September 2009. The SFR is available at the following web link:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000874/Tables19to27_Vals.xls
	The information requested for 1998 to 2000 is published in tables 18 and 24 of the Statistical First Release (SFR) School Workforce in England (including pupil:teacher ratios and pupil:adult ratios), January 2006 (Revised) published on 28 September 2006. The SFR is available at the following web link:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000681/index.shtml

Teachers: Training

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of schools funding which is retained by schools for the professional development of teachers.

Vernon Coaker: Funding for the continual professional development (CPD) of teachers is included within school's delegated budgets for the whole work force. It is for schools to determine how to spend this based on individual teacher needs, identified and agreed through the performance management process, and the school's own development/improvement priorities.
	However, Section 52 outturn data-which are the Department's source of information on expenditure across all local authority maintained schools-suggest that in the financial year 2007-08 maintained schools in England spent £180 million from delegated budgets on development and training for staff in schools; representing around 0.5 per cent. of total expenditure in schools. This includes expenditure on:
	development and training costs for all staff (directly and not directly employed) at the school;
	cost of all in-service training courses and other development opportunities; and
	cost of equipment and resources to provide in service training.

Teenage Pregnancy

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many girls aged 13 to 17 years became pregnant in each local authority area in 2007.

Dawn Primarolo: The latest (2007) data for each top-tier local authority are available on the 'Every Child Matters' website at the following link:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters/healthandwellbeing/teenagepregnancy/statistics/
	This provides the number and rate of conceptions and the proportion of conceptions that resulted in an abortion. The final column also shows the percentage change in the local conception rate between 1998 (the baseline year for the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy) and 2007.
	At a national level, there has been a 10.5 per cent. fall in the teenage conception rate over this period. Within this decline in teenage conceptions overall, there has been a 23.3 per cent. decline in teenage births.
	Although annual data for 2008 are not yet available, ONS has published quarterly conception data for the first three quarters of 2008. This shows a further reduction in the under 18 conception rate in each quarter compared to the corresponding quarters in 2007.

Youth Services: Greater London

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the  (a) net expenditure on youth services,  (b) local education authority net expenditure on youth services and  (c) per pupil average spend on youth services or nearest equivalent was in each London borough in 1999-2000.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government do not set a budget for spending on youth services. Local authorities decide what should be the expenditure, taking into account Government policy and local needs. The following table shows, for each London borough, the net expenditure and the net revenue expenditure on youth services and the revenue expenditure per head of the 14 to 19-year-old population in 1999-2000.
	
		
			  The Education (Outturn Statements) (England) Regulations  LA based net expenditure on youth services( 1)  per head of population (aged 14-19)( 2)  in 1999-2000 
			   Net current expenditure on youth services  Net revenue expenditure on youth services  Average expenditure per head of population (aged 14-19) 
			  Inner London
			 Camden 2,543,041 2,298,352 193 
			 City of London 222,581 190,585 727 
			 Hackney 1,660,942 0 0 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,519,453 981,300 121 
			 Harringey 1,290,145 1,464,000 96 
			 Islington 5,302,881 5,260,553 474 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 3,920,969 3,860,332 586 
			 Lambeth 1,835,227 1,521,800 92 
			 Lewisham 2,199,248 2,612,320 152 
			 Newham 1,768,544 1,748,842 80 
			 Southwark 2,517,555 2,064,442 123 
			 Tower Hamlets 3,607,612 3,615,225 218 
			 Wandsworth 2,802,407 0 0 
			 Westminster 1,808,324 1,802,335 187 
			 
			  Outer London
			 Barking and Dagenham 1,171,925 1,003,385 80 
			 Barnet 2,384,896 2,241,366 104 
			 Bexley 1,619,046 1,464,000 95 
			 Brent 2,226,000 2,208,000 112 
			 Bromley 1,165,922 1,133,371 61 
			 Croydon 2,074,000 2,279,962 94 
			 Ealing 1,178,544 1,005,747 48 
			 Enfield 997,018 943,134 48 
			 Greenwich 2,465,916 2,144,484 133 
			 Harrow 768,621 698,363 43 
			 Havering 1,348,459 1,284,242 79 
			 Hillingdon 1,467,117 1,408,104 81 
			 Hounslow 940,142 760,676 48 
			 Kingston upon Thames 633,768 697 0 
			 Merton 728,924 550,609 49 
			 Redbridge 1,502,790 1,382,162 77 
			 Richmond upon Thames 706,826 702,730 72 
			 Sutton 1,134,353 1,326,480 110 
			 Waltham Forest 1,985,532 1,856,734 115 
			  Notes: 1. Youth service expenditure includes the following items: employees; staff training; premises-related expenditure; transport related expenditure; supplies and services; third party payments; support services; youth work costs at residential and non-residential youth centres; youth work costs at activity at outdoor and urban studies centres; grant funding to the voluntary sector for youth work. 2. Population of 14 to 19-year-olds is based on ONS mid-year estimates for each local authority. A weighting of 3/4-1/4 has been given to the 2007 and 2008 figures in order to give an estimate for the financial year. 3. Data are provided as reported by the Las in the 1999-2000 outturn exercise. Values of zero for Wandsworth and Hackney LA may be because of discrepancies in the data and this should be acknowledged in any further use of the data. All data matches that published for the 1999-2000 outturn exercise.  Source: Data are taken from the 1999-2000 outturn exercise

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Departments

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many days each hospital started at a  (a) level three,  (b) level four and  (c) level five bed state in accident and emergency in each of the last five years; and how many days each hospital issued a red alert concerning accident and emergency in each of the last five years.

Mike O'Brien: This information is not collected centrally. Bed capacity management systems are a matter for local trusts. There is no national definition of particular bed states nor of particular colour alerts.

Ambulance Services: Crimes of Violence

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many physical assaults against staff of ambulance trusts serving the South East Region were reported in each county in each of the last three years.

Ann Keen: The information is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Since 2004-05, the number of physical assaults against staff reported by national health service bodies in England has been collected annually by the NHS Security Management Service (SMS).
	The numbers of physical assaults against NHS staff reported by the South Central Ambulance Service NHS trust and the South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS trust in the years 2006-07 to 2008-09 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 South Central Ambulance Service NHS trust 38 50 35 
			 South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS trust 81 69 107 
		
	
	The NHS SMS can assist employers through guidance on assessing risks and acting to protect staff from assaults and, where incidents do occur, on taking action against offenders. The NHS SMS also works with stakeholders, including the Social Partnership Forum, to promote the safety and security of NHS staff.

Arthritis: Health Services

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to ensure that the NHS Indicators for Quality Improvement include greater reference to the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders, with reference to the recommendations of the National Audit Office report on Service for People with rheumatoid arthritis.

Mike O'Brien: The Department has asked the National Quality Board to advise on priorities for quality indicator development across national health service services and they will be reporting back in 2010. Indicators for treatment of musculoskeletal conditions will be considered as part of that process.

Biofuels: Air Pollution

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 2 November 2009,  Official Report, column 672W, on biofuels: air pollution, if he will estimate the levels of  (a) mortality and (b) morbidity arising from additional emissions of (i) between 1.7 and 6.3 kt of fine particles and (ii) between 1.3 and 7.6 kt of coarser particles consequent upon achieving the biomass targets set out in the renewable energy strategy.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I have been asked to reply.
	The health impacts on air quality of the increase in particle emissions referred to in the question were converted to monetary values, using advice from the Department of Health on the health effects of particles and economic methodologies agreed by the Interdepartmental Group on Costs and Benefits. The impacts of fine and coarse particles were not assessed individually.
	The impacts on morbidity resulting from the uptake of biomass as a renewable energy source were also not assessed during the analyses.
	The available estimates of the number of life years lost in 2020 from the impact on air quality of the increased biomass combustion was estimated to be 340,000 for an uptake of 38 TWh of biomass with appliances with the very lowest emission on the market emitting 1.3 kt of coarse particles and 1,300,000 for medium quality units representing what is typical of the currently available units emitting annually 7.6 kt of coarse particles.
	The results presented above are for the whole of the UK and are given in their raw output form. The analysis is subject to considerable uncertainty in the underlying assumptions.

Care Homes: Patients' Rights

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding under the Dignity in Care campaign each local authority has received; which care homes in each local authority area were awarded extra funding from this allocation to improve dignity; how much each such home received; what the funding was proposed to be used for in each case; and what monitoring was undertaken to ensure the funding was spent on the objectives of the campaign.

Phil Hope: As part of the Dignity in Care campaign, local authorities received a £67.725 million capital grant for improving the care home environment for older people in 2007-08. Local Authority Circular (2006) 16 set out how this one-off capital grant was to be allocated and provided conditions for its use. A copy has been placed in the Library.
	The grant was made available to local authorities, for distribution to homes with whom they hold a contract, and in which a majority of patients are over 65 years of age. All arrangements for publicising the grant, deciding how to allocate the money and informing applicants of the outcome were made locally.
	Requests for information on homes benefiting from these grants should be made to the relevant local authorities. Detailed information is not held centrally by the Department.

Complementary Medicine: Regulation

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to publish his Department's response to its consultation on the statutory regulation of practitioners of acupuncture, herbal medicine, traditional Chinese medicine and other traditional medicine systems practised in the UK.

Ann Keen: The Department has received a large number of responses to the recent consultation on the statutory regulation of practitioners of acupuncture, herbal medicine, traditional Chinese medicine and other traditional medicine systems practised in the United Kingdom. Once these have been analysed, the Department will publish its response. This is not expected to be before summer 2010.

Departmental Official Cars

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of providing official cars for the use of  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in the last 12 months.

Phil Hope: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement about the cost of ministerial cars made by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Paul Clark) on 16 July 2009,  Official Report, columns 79-80WS.
	For the cost of cars to officials, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Paul Clark) on 2 December 2009,  Official Report, column 762W.

Departmental Scientists

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2009,  Official Report, column 653W, on departmental scientists, how many  (a) scientific advisers and  (b) civil servants in scientific posts work at (i) Richmond House, (ii) Quarry House and (iii) other of his Department's offices.

Phil Hope: Information about the number of scientific advisers and civil servants in scientific posts is not held centrally, so it is not possible to give an accurate figure by building.

Departmental Security

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many security passes his Department has issued to contractors providing consultancy services in the last 12 months.

Phil Hope: In the period from 1 December 2008 to 30 November 2009, there were 234 new contractor records on the Department's Business Management System. In the same period, there were 115 new consultant records.
	A security pass cannot be issued without a suitable record on the Department's Business Management System.

Dr. Foster

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what dates  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials of his Department have met Dr. Foster Ltd in the last 12 months.

Phil Hope: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Eyesight: Testing

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many eye tests were funded by the public purse in each region in each of the last two years; and what percentage of those who had eye tests subsequently received (i) spectacles for the first time and (ii) replacement or repairs of spectacles funded by the public purse.

Ann Keen: Information on the number of sight tests paid for by the national health service in England, is provided in Table 1 of the 'General Ophthalmic Services: Activity Statistics for England and Wales-Year ending 31 March 2009' report. Information is provided for the years ending 31 March, 2000 to 31 March 2009.
	Sight test information by strategic health authority (SHA) and by primary care trust (PCT) level for the years 31 March 1997 to 31 March 2009 is available in Table B1 of Annex C of the above report.
	The number of those who receive spectacles for the first time is not collected centrally.
	Table 9 of this report shows the number of vouchers for spectacles or contact lenses paid for by the NHS in England for the years ending 31 March 2000 to 2009.
	Table 15 of the above report shows the number of items for repair or replacement, in England, for the years ending 31 March 2000 to 2009.
	Information on the numbers of vouchers and the numbers of items for repair or replacement by SHA and by PCT for the years ending 31 March 1997 to 31 March 2009 is available in Tables B1 of Annex D and A1 of Annex E of the above report.
	This report, published on 19 August 2009, has already been placed in the Library and is available online at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/eye-care/general-ophthalmic-services:-activity-statistics-for-england-and-wales-year-ending-31-march-2009
	All the reports have been published by The NHS Information Centre for health and social care.

Forensic Science: Offences Against Children

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what clinical and governance standards apply to health facilities used to obtain forensic evidence from children subject to sexual assault in order to assist in the potential prosecution of criminal offences.

Ann Keen: Governance arrangements for health facilities used to obtain forensic evidence from children subject to sexual assault will be for local determination and should be in keeping with national guidance on safeguarding children.
	The Department of Health, the Home Office and the Association of Chief Police Officers published joint guidance in October 2009 which sets out the minimum elements essential for providing high quality Sexual Assault Referral Centres for adults and children who are victims of sexual assault. This covers forensic medical examination.
	Clinical standards, 'Physical Signs of Child Sexual Abuse-An Evidence Based Review and Guidance for Best Practice', was published by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in March 2008. The standards describe physical signs of sexual abuse, the strength of evidence of those signs being due to sexual abuse and issues for clinical practice. Good practice in history taking, obtaining consent, examination technique, photo documentation, forensic sampling and testing for sexually transmitted diseases is described.
	In addition, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence published clinical guidelines in July 2009 on how to recognise child maltreatment which includes how to recognise signs of sexual abuse.

Health Professions: Manpower

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) GPs,  (b) dentists,  (c) optometrists and  (d) pharmacies there were in each region in each of the last two years; and how many this equated to per 100,000 resident population in each category.

Ann Keen: The numbers of general practitioners (GPs) per 100,000 resident population are available as at 30 September 2007 and 2008, for England and by strategic health authority (SHA) and primary care trust (PCT).
	Data as at 30 September 2007 are available in the 'General and Personal Medical Services. Detailed Results' report. This report, published on 14 March 2008, has been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/workforce/nhs-staff-numbers/nhs-staff-1997--2007-general-practice
	Data are contained in the table 'Selected Statistics by Primary Care Trusts: England':
	www.ic.nhs.uk/webfiles/publications/nhsstaff2007/gp/PCT%20Level.xls
	Data as at 30 September 2008 are available in the 'General and Personal Medical Services. Detailed Results'. Data are contained in the table 'Selected Statistics by Primary Care Trusts: England'. This report, published on 25 March 2009, has been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/workforce/nhs-staff-numbers/nhs-staff-1998--2008-general-practice
	Data are contained in the table 'Selected Statistics by Primary Care Trusts: England':
	www.ic.nhs.uk/webfiles/publications/nhsstaff2008/gp/2008%20Detailed%20Results%20Final.xls
	The numbers of dentists with NHS activity per 100,000 resident population during the years ending 31 March 2008 and 2009 are available in Table G1 of Annex 3 of the NHS Dental Statistics for England, 2008-09 report. Information is provided for England and by SHA and PCT. This information is based on the new dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006. This report, published on 19 August 2009, has already been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentalstats0809
	The numbers of optometrists per 100,000 resident population as at 31 December 2007 and 2008 are available for England and by SHA and PCT in Table CI (2007) and Table C2 (2008) of Annex 4 of the 'General Ophthalmic Services: Workforce Statistics for England and Wales, 31 December 2008' report.
	This report, published on 21 May 2009, has already been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/eye-care/general-ophthalmic-services:-workforce-statistics-for-england-and-wales-31-december-2008
	The number of pharmacies per 100,000 resident population as at 31 March 2008 and 2009 are available for England and by SHA and PCT.
	Data as at 31 March 2008 are available in the PCT Level Appendix of the 'General Pharmaceutical Services in England and Wales 1998-99 to 2007-08' report. This report, published on 25 November 2008, has already been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/pharmacies/general-pharmaceutical-services-in-england-and-wales-1998-99-to-2007-08
	Data as at 31 March 2009 are available in the PCT Level Appendix of the 'General Pharmaceutical Services in England 1999-00 to 2008-09' report. This report, published on 24 November 2009, has already been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/pharmacies/general-pharmaceutical-services-in-england-1999-2000-to-2008-09
	Data on the numbers of pharmacists working within the pharmacies are not collected by the NHS Information Centre and therefore is not available centrally.

Health Services: Sight Impaired

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to increase the provision of information to blind or partially-sighted people on their  (a) diagnosis and  (b) treatment.

Ann Keen: Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, service providers are required to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. This means they must take reasonable steps to change any practice, policy or procedure which makes it unreasonably difficult for a disabled person to make use of their services. This may include producing information about the diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions in different formats, depending on an assessment of the person's needs. It is up to individual service providers as to how they make any necessary reasonable adjustments.

HIV Infection: Circumcision

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has evaluated on the effects of male circumcision on the risk of contracting HIV.

Gillian Merron: The Expert Advisory Group on AIDS, which provides the Department with expert scientific advice on HIV, keeps the evidence on the effect of male circumcision on prevention of HIV transmission under review.
	Male circumcision has been demonstrated to reduce heterosexual (female-to-male) transmission of HIV by around 60 per cent. in randomised controlled trials in Africa.

HIV Infection: Health Education

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps his Department has taken to reduce HIV-related stigma.

Gillian Merron: The National Strategy for Sexual Health and HIV (2001) included reducing HIV stigma as one of its goals. The Department funded the Medical Foundation for AIDS and Sexual Health (MedFASH) who published in October 2009, Tackling HIV Testing, a resource pack for hospital staff which addresses the impact of stigma on accepting and offering an HIV test.
	The Department has also contributed to the African HIV Policy Network's Changing Perspectives campaign and the publication in June 2009 of HIV toolkits for African faith leaders which address issues linked to stigma.
	This is additional to work funded following publication by the Department of Tackling Stigma in May 2007, which included a National AIDS Trust campaign on improving accurate press coverage of HIV and work with employers, as well as a booklet produced by NAM publications on HIV Stigma and You for people living with HIV (second edition published 2009).

Hospitals: Crimes of Violence

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many hospital staff in England were physically assaulted while on duty in each of the last three years;
	(2)  how many hospital staff in England were hospitalised as a result of assault while on duty in each of the last three years.

Ann Keen: Information on the number of hospital staff in England physically assaulted while on duty is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Information on the number of hospital staff in England hospitalised as a result of assault while on duty is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Information on the number of reported physical assaults against national health service staff in 2006-07 and 2007-08 is contained in the 'Tables showing number of reported physical assaults on NHS staff from 2004-05 to 2007-08, broken down by NHS trust/PCT' which have already been placed in the Library.
	Information on the number of reported physical assaults against NHS staff in 2008-09 is contained in the 'Tables showing number of reported physical assaults on NHS staff in 2008-09, broken down by NHS trust/PCT' which have already been placed in the Library.
	The NHS Security Management Service (NHS SMS) can assist employers through guidance on assessing risks and acting to protect staff from assaults and, where incidents do occur, on taking action against offenders. The NHS SMS also works with stakeholders, including the Social Partnership Forum, to promote the safety and security of NHS staff.

Hospitals: Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were issued with parking fines following parking in hospital car parks in Milton Keynes in each of the last five years.

Mike O'Brien: These data are not collected centrally.
	The management of national health service car parking is the responsibility of the NHS organisations locally. This includes the use of parking fines if the NHS consider it appropriate to reduce congestion and deter misuse of the facilities provided.

Hospitals: Standards

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Monitor in assessing clinical performance at NHS hospitals.

Mike O'Brien: The National Health Service Act 2006 requires Monitor (the statutory name of which is the Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts) to be accountable to Parliament and to exercise its functions effectively, efficiently and economically.

Influenza: Stockport

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many doses of seasonal influenza vaccine had been distributed to health centres in the Stockport Primary Care Trust area in the 12 months to 1 December 2009.

Gillian Merron: Seasonal influenza vaccine is ordered by general practitioner (GP) practices direct from the manufacturers. The Department is not involved in the ordering process and does not have information about amounts ordered or distributed. Seasonal influenza vaccine is distributed from mid-September onwards, with most GP practices starting vaccination from early October.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what guidance he has issued to strategic health authorities on the length of time within which they should aim to reply to correspondence from hon. Members;
	(2)  if his Department will issue guidance to NHS trusts on the length of time within which they should aim to reply to correspondence from hon. Members;
	(3)  what directions the NHS issues to staff of  (a) NHS trusts and  (b) strategic health authorities on the (i) provision and (ii) timeliness of replies to correspondence from hon. Members.

Ann Keen: In March 2009, the following guidance was issued to NHS chief executives via the NHS chief executive's monthly bulletin of key messages:
	 Handling correspondence from MPs
	NHS organisations are reminded of the importance of handling correspondence from MPs in the appropriate manner. NHS organisations will receive letters from MPs on a variety of topics and these should receive the personal consideration and response of the Chief Executive or, in some situations, it may be appropriate for the Chair to respond in behalf of their organisations. Some of these letters will be written on behalf of patients and carers and these may need to be handled as part of the complaints system but this does not mean that they should not be given the same priority as letters from MPs on any topic.

NHS: East of England

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received from the East of England strategic health authority on the performance of NHS trusts in its area.

Mike O'Brien: The Department holds strategic health authorities to account for the performance of the national health service in its area using the results of the Care Quality Commission Annual health check, the NHS performance framework and other relevant information as a guide in that process.

NHS: Essex

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when  (a) Basildon and Thurrock NHS Foundation Trust and  (b) Colchester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust received visits from (i) the East of England strategic health authority, (ii) the Health Protection Agency, (iii) the NHS Patient Safety Agency, (iv) the Care Quality Commission, (v) Monitor, (vi) the Health and Safety Executive and (vii) the NHS Litigation Authority in the last 12 months.

Mike O'Brien: The chairman of Monitor (the statutory name of which is the Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts) will write to the hon. Member with the information he requested, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library.

Nurses: Graduates

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of new entrants to registered nursing in the NHS were graduates in each of the last 10 years.

Ann Keen: The information is not collected centrally.
	Work force planning, including training, in the national health service is managed and led at a local level by the strategic health authorities taking into account the national policy direction.
	Local NHS organisations are best placed to determine the levels of service and resource required to meet the health needs of the local population.

Nutrition Action Plan Delivery Board

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the letter sent by the Minister of State for Care Services to the hon. Member for Eddisbury of 4 November 2009, ref MS(CS)500124, if he will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of each meeting of the Nutrition Action Plan Delivery Board to date.

Phil Hope: All the meeting minutes of the Nutrition Action Plan Delivery Board have been placed in the Library.

Nutrition Action Plan Delivery Board

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the letter sent by the Minister of State for Care Services to the hon. Member for Eddisbury of 4 November 2009, ref MS(CS)500124, for what reasons Ministers need to consider the recommendations contained in the final report of the Nutrition Action Plan Delivery Board before the final report is published.

Phil Hope: The report makes recommendations addressed to Government and other organisations. Ministers are considering how to respond to those recommendations.

Palliative Care

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what definition his Department uses of  (a) palliative and  (b) end-of-life-care.

Phil Hope: The Department uses the following definitions, based on those used by the World Health Organisation and the National Council for Palliative Care:
	Palliative care is the active holistic care of patients with advanced progressive illness, focusing on the management of pain and other symptoms and the provision of psychological, social and spiritual care; and
	End-of-life care is care that helps all those with advanced, progressive, incurable illness to live as well as possible until they die. It enables the supportive and palliative care needs of both patients and family to be identified and met throughout the last phase of life and into bereavement. It includes management of pain and other symptoms and provision of psychological, social, spiritual and practical support.

Palliative Care

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the  (a) median,  (b) mean and  (c) maximum lifespan of those receiving palliative care.

Phil Hope: This information is not collected centrally.

Patient Choice Schemes

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines his Department has issued on patient access to treatment by extended choice network providers; and what recent assessment he has made of the range of conditions for which patients are being treated by extended choice network providers.

Mike O'Brien: All approved extended choice networks (ECN) providers must agree to the ECN rules and sign up to a membership agreement prior to service commencement.
	ECN providers undertake adult elective procedures. The range of procedures is listed in the ECN rules.
	As at 30 September 2009, more than 105,000 patients have been treated under the extended choice and free choice networks.

Patient Choice Schemes

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were refused a referral to an extended choice network provider by such a provider in each of the last three years.

Mike O'Brien: The Department does not hold this information as extended choice network providers are not required to submit data on refused patient referrals to the Department. Patient referral issues will be monitored locally by the appropriate primary care trust.

Patient Choice Schemes

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which psychiatric disorders are included in the list of conditions in relation to which providers in the extended choice network may refuse a patient referral.

Mike O'Brien: To help safeguard patient safety, Extended Choice Network rules state that a facility providing elective care should not treat a patient who has a current and significantly unstable psychiatric disorder where it cannot reasonably be expected to accommodate the patient's needs.

Patient Choice Schemes

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what criteria providers in the extended choice network are permitted to refuse referrals relating to  (a) patients with psychiatric disorders and  (b) other patients.

Mike O'Brien: National health service patients are assessed to ensure that they are treated in a clinically appropriate setting.
	The Extended Choice Network rules list the patient and procedure exclusions.
	The listed exclusions are:
	 Patient:
	any person under the age of 18-years-old;
	any patient with an American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) score of three (who is unstable), unless the appropriate critical care facilities that meet the Levels of Critical Care for Adult Patients Standards and Guidelines (Intensive Care Society 2002) are available;
	any patient with an ASA score higher than three (whether stable or unstable), unless the appropriate critical care facilities that meet the Levels of Critical Care for Adult Patients Standards and Guidelines (Intensive Care Society 2002) are available; and
	a patient who has a current and significantly unstable psychiatric disorder where the approved facility cannot reasonably be expected to accommodate the patient's needs.
	 Procedure:
	clinically urgent procedures (being patients that require surgery within 10 days for a clinical reason);
	procedures related to maternity services;
	termination of pregnancy;
	surgery indicated to be for cosmetic reasons;
	any procedure that is likely to require critical care, unless the appropriate critical care facilities that meet the Levels of Critical Care for Adult Patients Standards and Guidelines (Intensive Care Society 2002) are available; and
	in vitro fertilisation treatment for a patient that exceeds the number of procedures that would in the same circumstances be offered to that patient in his/her local NHS area or which is not in compliance with the licensing regulations laid down by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

Scientists

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions he has met  (a) the Government Chief Scientific Adviser and  (b) his Department's Chief Scientific Adviser in the course of his official duties in the last 12 months.

Phil Hope: In the course of the last 12 months and in their capacity as Secretary of State for Health my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull, West and Hessle (Alan Johnson) and my right hon. Friend the Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham) have met the Government Chief Scientific Adviser on three occasions and the Department's Chief Scientific Adviser on four occasions.

Selly Oak Hospital

David Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) patients and  (b) military personnel have been treated for noise-induced hearing loss at Selly Oak Hospital in the last five years.

Phil Hope: No patients or military personnel have been admitted to Selly Oak Hospital with noise effects on the inner ear, which includes but is not limited to noise-induced hearing loss, as a primary or secondary diagnosis in the last five years (2004-05 to 2008-09). Data for the number of outpatients treated for noise effects on the inner ear are not collected centrally.

Sickle Cell Diseases

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has visited any sickle cell disorder support groups in the last 12 months.

Ann Keen: Ministers have not visited any sickle cell disorder support groups in the last 12 months.
	However I met with representatives from the Wolverhampton Sickle Cell Care and Social Activity Centre on 29 October 2008 and the UK Thalassaemia Society on 21 April 2009 to discuss respectively, care of sickle cell anaemia and thalassaemia patients. I also provided a statement of support in July 2009 for the All Party Parliamentary Group publication 'Sickle Cell Disease and Thalassaemia: A Health Check to raise awareness of these conditions'.

Sickle Cell Diseases

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps his Department has taken to improve the standard of services for those diagnosed with sickle cell anaemia.

Ann Keen: The planning, delivery and improvements in services for people diagnosed with sickle cell anaemia are the responsibility of local commissioners, providers and their relevant stakeholders.
	We are working with a range of commissioners and stakeholders to improve the integration of health and social care services for people with sickle cell anaemia and to ensure that they receive the information and support that they need to manage their condition effectively.

Siemens

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has entered into any contracts with Siemens or its subsidiaries since February 2009.

Phil Hope: Since February 2009, the Department has entered into one contract with Siemens.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  with reference to the answer of 12 October 2009,  Official Report, column 702W, on departmental publications, if he will publish each detailed model for the proposals outlined in the Green Paper, Shaping the Future of Care Together, apart from that relating to the provision of free personal homecare to certain users;
	(2)  for what reason he did not publish the economic modelling for the Shaping the Future of Care Together consultation before the consultation was concluded.

Phil Hope: The Department is working towards publishing a White Paper on care and support in early 2010. We have been working with the Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU) to provide the modelling and analysis to underpin our policy development. We were provided with an interim report from PSSRU in November but that was based on a view of the system when the Green Paper was published. Our core modelling assumptions have changed quite significantly since then as a result of our stakeholder engagement, responses to our consultation and developments such as the Prime Minister's announcement on free personal care. The report is therefore only part of the story and we have come to the conclusion that to publish it now could be unhelpful to the wider debate on the future of care and support.
	The whole methodology of the interim report was published in July on the PSSRU's website at:
	http://www.pssru.ac.uk/pdf/dp2644.pdf
	The top-level costs and benefits are in the impact assessment published with the Green Paper and available on the Big Care Debate website at:
	http://careandsupport.direct.gov.uk/greenpaper/the-green-paper-and-supporting-documents/
	PSSRU continue to model the costs and benefits of a new National Care Service based on revised assumptions.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to paragraph 4.5 of the Impact Assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, for what reasons re-ablement will not be made available to those receiving palliative care.

Phil Hope: It would be for local councils to assess whether or not an individual would benefit from re-ablement.
	In the vast majority of cases, where people are receiving palliative care at the end of their lives, it is likely that such an intervention would be both entirely inappropriate and of no benefit to them.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate, on the basis of the assumptions in the impact assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, the cost to the Exchequer of the free personal care proposed to be provided in each year to 2030.

Phil Hope: The impact assessment estimates the first full year costs of extending free personal care at home to those with the highest needs at £537 million. It also estimates the costs of providing re-ablement services over the same period at £130 million, bringing the total costs of the proposals to approximately £670 million.
	The impact assessment only covers the period from October 2010 to the end of 2012-13. Estimating beyond this point is problematic because of the uncertainties involved. The proposals here are intended as a step towards a fully integrated National Care Service, at which point a different set of assumptions may need to be applied.

Strokes: Health Education

Laura Moffatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for the future of his Department's FAST campaign to raise stroke awareness.

Ann Keen: The FAST campaign was re-launched on television in November and will run until the end of December this year. Further adverts accompanied by a national print media campaign are planned to run from February to March next year.
	The Department's FAST website has been updated and now includes a simple online exercise enabling people to test their knowledge of FAST. Further work which aims to embed the FAST message in first aid manuals and training programmes, ensuring sustained delivery of the campaign message, is ongoing.
	In the coming months we will continue to monitor the impact of the campaign and plans for future activity in 2010-11 will build on the outcome of this work.

Swine Flu: Vaccination

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the adequacy of supplies of the H1N1 vaccine to GP practices in order to meet the initial prioritisation of at-risk groups.

Gillian Merron: The Department has been monitoring the supply of swine flu vaccines to the national health service very closely and is in regular contact with the vaccine manufacturers and distributor.
	As of 2 December 2009, 14.9 million doses of Pandemrix had been received in the United Kingdom, which was sufficient for all of the initial high-risk priority groups. An initial distribution of 500 doses of Pandemrix to every general practitioner (GP) practice in England was completed by 13 November 2009. From 12 November 2009 primary care trusts (PCTs) have been able to order additional supplies of vaccine for their GPs by using the Department's online ordering system.
	While the timing of our overall delivery schedule has been reliant on predicted supplies from the manufacturer, we have taken action to ensure that supplies are pushed out to the national health service as fast as possible.

Swine Flu: Vaccination

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to reach agreement with the British Medical Association on procedures and policy for vaccinating children between the ages of six months and five years against swine influenza.

Gillian Merron: As of 3 December 2009, negotiations between the British Medical Association General Practitioners Committee and NHS Employers were continuing. The Department is seeking a prompt conclusion to the negotiations to enable the NHS to begin protecting children over six months and under five years from the H1N1 swine flu virus as soon as possible.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Youth Unemployment

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment she has made of the causes of changes in the level of youth unemployment in the last 12 months.

Jim Knight: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell).

Youth Unemployment

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment she has made of the reasons for changes in the level of youth unemployment in the last 12 months.

Jim Knight: Rising youth unemployment is one consequence of the global recession.
	Unemployment is rising because more people are becoming unemployed in the recession and not because fewer people are leaving unemployment.
	Long-term youth unemployment remains significantly below levels seen in previous recessions.

New Deal for Lone Parents

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made on the new deal for lone parents.

Yvette Cooper: Since new deal for lone parents was introduced in October 1998, it has helped over 635,000 lone parents into work.

Maintenance Payments: Absentee Fathers

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will bring forward proposals to require absentee fathers of the children of teenage mothers to make maintenance payments when they are in work; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Goodman: Under the current rules absentee fathers are obliged to pay £5 a week when they are on benefit and, as they enter work, their child maintenance calculation increases correspondingly as a proportion of their income.

Economically Inactive Population

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of the working age population in  (a) the UK and  (b) Rochford and Southend East constituency was economically inactive on the latest date for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: Data from the Annual Population Survey show that from April 2008 to March 2009, the percentage of the working age population in Rochford and Southend, East that is inactive was 24.3 per cent. and in the UK it was 21.3 per cent.
	The inactivity rate in the UK is lower today than it was in 1997 and, excluding full-time students, is 2.3 percentage points lower.

Long-term Unemployment

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps she is taking to reduce levels of long-term unemployment.

Jim Knight: Since 2008, the Government have made available £5 billion to provide substantial new support to get all unemployed jobseekers back to work.
	This Government will not write off any individual and leave them languishing on benefits. That is why, through the new deal and the flexible new deal, people claiming benefits for 12 months or more will get the help they need to return to work.

Christmas

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Christmas parties his Department plans to host in 2009; what has been budgeted for each such reception; what estimate she has made of the proportion of  (a) lamb,  (b) beef,  (c) chicken,  (d) pork,  (e) turkey,  (f) other meats,  (g) vegetables,  (h) fruit and  (i) alcohol to be served at each such function which is produced in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: Departmental funds are not normally used to fund internal staff parties or recreational events. The cost of staff parties, including Christmas parties, are normally met by those staff attending. In an organisation of the size of DWP, such events are numerous and are not systematically recorded by the Department or its agencies. No information is held centrally on the food served at these events nor could the plans for such events in 2009 be made available without incurring disproportionate cost.

Departmental Domestic Visits

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on how many occasions she visited  (a) Scotland,  (b) Wales and  (c) Northern Ireland in an official capacity in the last 12 months.

Jim Knight: The Secretary of State has visited both Scotland and Wales once in her official capacity in the last 12 months. She has not visited Northern Ireland.

Departmental Taxis

Ian Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what contracts her Department has with private hire taxi companies; and what expenditure her Department has incurred against each such contract in each of the last three years.

Jim Knight: The Department of Work and Pensions currently has no contracts with private hire taxi companies and has not had any such contracts during the last three years.

Departmental Telephone Services

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will assess the merits of introducing an automatic call-back request feature for callers to her Department's telephone helplines to minimise the cost to callers.

Jim Knight: holding answer 24 November 2009
	Where a customer calling the Department for Work and Pensions' 0800 or 0845 services asks us to, or raises concerns over the cost of the call, we will offer to call them back. In addition to this, Jobcentre Plus has recently introduced a further improvement in customer service for customers calling their 0800 and 0845 benefit enquiry numbers from mobile phones. From October 2009, all customers calling these numbers from a mobile phone are now automatically offered a call-back.
	The Department has also asked our telephony provider to investigate how we might employ automated interventions that allow customers to leave call-back numbers without waiting for connection to an agent. Potential solutions may involve either saving a customer's place in line or scheduling a call back time convenient to each customer.

Departmental Travel

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on what date she last travelled by  (a) bus and  (b) taxi in the course of her official duties.

Jim Knight: The Secretary of State has not travelled by bus or taxi in the course of her official duties.

Employment Services: Autism

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent steps her Department has taken to assist young people with autism find long-term employment.

Jonathan R Shaw: We are fully committed to supporting young disabled people, including those diagnosed with autism, to find suitable and sustainable work. The Department will, following the recent consultation exercise on the Autism Bill, work closely with the Department of Health and others across government on the planned Autism Strategy.
	The Department offers a number of programmes and services which help people with autism to find, and stay in employment.
	Disability employment advisers in Jobcentre Plus, for example, can advise a customer about suitable job opportunities and specialised support available to disabled people. If necessary they can also advocate on a customer's behalf (by negotiating with employers), refer customers for an occupational health assessment, and use the professional expertise of work psychologists, who specialise in working with disabled people.
	The Department has a number of specialist programmes that help disabled people move into paid work, some of which are only accessible through disability employment advisers. These programmes include work preparation, residential training and Workstep (a programme of supported employment).
	Disabled people going into paid work may also be able to benefit from Access to Work, which provides practical advice and support to disabled people and their employers to help overcome work related obstacles resulting from disability. Access to Work provides a system of grants which contribute towards the cost of providing support, such as a job coach for a short period to help settle an autistic customer into work. Support can also be given to the customer in the form of awareness training on autism which can be delivered to the customer's colleagues.
	Jobcentre Plus staff are also provided with training in the skills required to manage a range of behaviours demonstrated by customers, covering a variety of health conditions. This approach ensures that they are equipped to deal with diverse circumstances whilst treating customers as individuals. Advisers look at the interaction between the person, the job and an individual's ability and ensure that job goals relate to the customer's abilities and that work solutions are sought to overcome any challenges a customer might face in a particular job.

Incapacity Benefit

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were in receipt of incapacity benefit in each month since January 2004.

Jonathan R Shaw: The available information is in the table.
	
		
			  Number of people claiming incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance and employment and support allowance in Great Britain and abroad 
			   Incapacity benefit  Employment and support allowance 
			 February 2004 2,819,160 - 
			 May 2004 2,814,710 - 
			 August 2004 2,817,010 - 
			 November 2004 2,814,410 - 
			 February 2005 2,799,870 - 
			 May 2005 2,783,720 - 
			 August 2005 2,767,740 - 
			 November 2005 2,752,900 - 
			 February 2006 2,747,490 - 
			 May 2006 2,730,000 - 
			 August 2006 2,724,980 - 
			 November 2006 2,714,950 - 
			 February 2007 2,704,100 - 
			 May 2007 2,685,320 - 
			 August 2007 2,683,160 - 
			 November 2007 2,683,750 - 
			 February 2008 2,659,650 - 
			 May 2008 2,637,560 - 
			 August 2008 2,632,000 - 
			 November 2008 2,593,010 53,770 
			 February 2009 2,468,620 175,810 
			 May 2009 2,374,210 (1)288,270 
			 (1) Provisional data.  Notes: 1. Case load figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Employment and support allowance replaced incapacity benefit and income support paid on the grounds of incapacity for new claims from 27 October 2008. 3. The figures relating to employment and support allowance have been thoroughly quality assured to National Statistics standard. However, it should be noted that this is a new benefit using a new data source which may not have reached steady state in terms of operational processing and retrospection. Hence most recent data shown is provisional.  Source: Department for Work and Pensions Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.

Jobcentre Plus

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of days were lost through sickness absence of Jobcentre Plus staff in each  (a) region and  (b) country of the UK in each of the last three years; what the rate of (i) early retirement and (ii) resignation on grounds of stress and ill health was amongst Jobcentre Plus staff in each (A) region and (B) country of the UK in each of the last three years; and what the rate of staff turnover was in Jobcentre Plus in each (1) region and (2) country of the UK in (y) 2007-08 and (z) 2008-09.

Jim Knight: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Darra Singh:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what percentage of days were lost through sickness absence of Jobcentre Plus staff in each a) region and b) country of the UK in each of the last three years; what the rate of a) early retirement and b) resignation on grounds of stress and ill health was amongst Jobcentre Plus staff in each a) region and b) country of the UK in each of the last three years; and what the rate of staff turnover was in Jobcentre Plus in each a) region and b) country of the UK in i) 2007/08 and ii) 2008/09. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The table in the following annex provides details by region/country of the percentage of days lost as a result of sick absence in Jobcentre Plus. This sets out the position for 2008/09 and the latest point we have information for, i.e. the 12 month period from November 2008 to October 2009. Unfortunately, we do not hold any earlier information covering working days available and working days lost for each region/country to calculate percentage absence rates. Jobcentre Plus reports its attendance management performance in terms of average working days lost and those are the details we retain to monitor progress.
	We do not have details of resignations that arose due to stress or ill health. However, we do maintain details of numbers of ill health retirements. These are contained in the following annex for each of the last three years. The figures comprise all ill health retirement cases that arose in Jobcentre Plus during the period in question.
	Details of staff turnover for 2007/08 and 2008/09 are set out in the table in the annex.
	 Annex
	
		
			  Percentage rate of sick absence in jobcentre plus 
			   Percentage absence rate 
			  Region/country  12 months to  March 2009  12 months to  October 2009 
			 East Midlands 3.9 4.0 
			 East of England 4.0 3.7 
			 London 4.5 4.0 
			 North East 4.1 3.8 
			 North West 4.4 4.1 
			 Scotland 4.0 3.6 
			 South East 4.2 3.9 
			 South West 4.0 3.8 
			 Wales 4.3 4.0 
			 West Midlands 4.2 4.0 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 3.5 3.3 
			  Note: Sickness absence levels are reported on an average working days lost basis.  Source: BOXI Management Information Portal 
		
	
	
		
			  Ill health retirements in jobcentre plus 
			  Region/country  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 East Midlands 7 3 6 
			 East of England 6 4 6 
			 London 13 4 5 
			 North East 11 12 15 
			 North West 14 11 13 
			 Scotland 7 6 4 
			 South East 12 3 7 
			 South West 3 5 11 
			 Wales 5 3 7 
			 West Midlands 15 9 13 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 14 3 3 
			  Note: Data relate to the 12 month period to March for each of the years.  Source: Dataview, extracted from Resource Management 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage rate of staff turnover in jobcentre plus 
			  Region/country  2007-08  2008-09 
			 East Midlands 5.3 5.7 
			 East of England 4.2 4.6 
			 London 3.3 3.6 
			 North East 4.3 4.2 
			 North West 4.9 4.6 
			 Scotland 4.8 4.9 
			 South East 4.3 4.1 
			 South West 6.9 7.1 
			 Wales 4.9 4.7 
			 West Midlands 4.9 4.9 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 4.7 5.0 
			  Note: Data relate to the 12 month period to March for each of the years.  Source: Dataview, extracted from Resource Management

Jobcentre Plus: Manpower

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many additional staff have been recruited by Jobcentre Plus from outside her Department in each region in each of the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Darra Singh:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many additional staff have been recruited by Jobcentre Plus from outside her Department in each region in each of the last 12 months. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The table at Annex 1 provides details by region/country of the number of external recruits to Jobcentre Plus in the 12 month period October 2008 to September 2009.
	
		
			  Annex 1: People recruited by Jobcentre Plus October 2008 to September 2009 
			   2008  2009  
			  Region/country  Oct  Nov  Dec  Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Total 
			 East Midlands 54 70 28 171 63 88 85 108 220 268 219 159 1,533 
			 East of England 26 40 32 70 40 94 93 163 324 343 228 135 1,588 
			 London 8 97 43 74 40 85 143 193 231 307 381 264 1,866 
			 North East 23 15 41 37 28 38 127 95 237 196 117 122 1,076 
			 North West 45 127 79 136 126 191 85 158 276 490 321 321 2,355 
			 Scotland 93 66 67 109 113 131 168 218 332 329 188 68 1,882 
			 South East 37 45 85 142 73 25 186 297 207 324 215 94 1,730 
			 South West 30 81 58 105 36 65 75 132 206 252 228 64 1,332 
			 Wales 38 60 47 134 66 99 56 41 100 232 140 54 1,067 
			 West Midlands 28 57 82 69 57 175 95 213 293 318 227 242 1,856 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 51 53 58 93 65 132 121 80 296 465 186 222 1,822 
			 Total 433 711 620 1,140 707 1,123 1,234 1,698 2,722 3,524 2,450 1,745 18,107 
			  Source: Department for Work and Pensions Resource Management System

Jobcentre Plus: South East Region

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Jobcentre Plus staff were employed in  (a) Sussex and  (b) the South East in each of the last 10 years.

Jim Knight: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many Jobcentre Plus staff were employed in a) Sussex and b) the South East in each of the last 10 years. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	I have set out the information you requested in the following table. However, we do not hold figures for Sussex alone. The Jobcentre Plus District for which figures are provided below is Surrey and Sussex. In addition, I am unable to provide information for the period requested. For data capacity reasons the information you seek is only available from 2007.
	
		
			   South East  Surrey and Sussex 
			 March 2007 5,292 1,473 
			 March 2008 5,118 1,410 
			 March 2009 5,555 1,522 
			 September 2009 6,727 1,804 
			  Source:  Jobcentre Plus Resource Management System.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Interviews

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 12 June 2009,  Official Report, column 1034W, on Jobcentre Plus: interviews, what data her Department collects on  (a) performance at each Jobcentre Plus office and  (b) the average length of a jobseeker's interview with a personal adviser (i) for initial assessment, (ii) to make a jobseeker's agreement, (iii) to sign on and (iv) for other purposes.

Jim Knight: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.

National Insurance Contributions

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many national insurance numbers were issued to  (a) non-UK EU nationals and  (b) non-EU nationals in each of the last 12 quarters for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  National insurance number registrations to adult overseas nationals entering the UK, last 12 quarters of registration 
			   EU nationals  Non-EU nationals 
			 April 2006 to June 2006 77,390 56,380 
			 July 2006 to September 2006 91,040 60,370 
			 October 2006 to December 2006 98,640 65,940 
			 January 2007 to March 2007 153,180 102,440 
			 April 2007 to June 2007 99,410 66,630 
			 July 2007 to September 2007 121,380 68,460 
			 October 2007 to December 2007 108,290 76,670 
			 January 2008 to March 2008 110,830 80,930 
			 April 2008 to June 2008 100,680 74,650 
			 July 2008 to September 2008 101,930 65,260 
			 October 2008 to December 2008 68,590 66,110 
			 January 2009 to March 2009 105,960 102,420 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Registration date is derived from the date at which a national insurance number is maintained on the national insurance recording system. 3. World area of origin based on a client's nationality. The mapping for 'world areas' are based on the present day. Bulgaria and Romania are listed as EU accession states for the entire back series. European Union includes the accession states.  Source: 100 per cent. extract from national insurance recording system.

New Deal for Young People

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 11 November 2009,  Official Report, column 583W, on work experiences: young people, how Jobcentre Plus secures placements on each of the  (a) work,  (b) voluntary sector and  (c) environmental taskforce options for participants in the New Deal for Young People.

Jim Knight: Jobcentre Plus does not directly secure placements for the New Deal for Young People options. It is the New Deal providers, as part of their contract with Jobcentre Plus, who source and secure suitable placements for all three options according to customer demand.

New Deal for Young People

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 11 November 2009,  Official Report, column 583W, on work experience: young people, what steps Jobcentre Plus is taking to monitor the efficacy of each option available under the New Deal for Young People in helping the participant into work.

Jim Knight: DWP welfare to work providers are required to meet the quality and delivery standards set out in the contract specification for New Deal for Young People , and are subject to contract management and monitoring by DWP.
	New Deal Prime Contracts are subject to external inspection by Ofsted in England and Estyn in Wales. This is to provide independent assurance, through the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, that publicly funded provision is delivering a quality experience to our individual customers.
	In addition, providers are expected to follow the DWP Quality Framework which promotes the commitment to quality improvement through continuous self-assessment and development planning. Areas for improvement identified through self-assessment and inspection are addressed through the DWP contract management review process.
	An external inspection regime will be introduced in Scotland by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) from January 2010.

Social Security Benefits: Drugs

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the number of people on the trial programme to have lost benefit entitlement as a result of testing positive for drugs.

Jim Knight: The Department for Work and Pensions is not currently running any trial programme in which people have lost, or indeed could lose, benefit entitlement as a result of testing positive for drugs.
	Arrangements are included in the Welfare Reform Act November 2009 to enable pilots for problem drug users within the benefit system, to take place from autumn 2010 in Central London, Cumbria and Lancashire, Merseyside, West Yorkshire, Birmingham and Solihull.
	These pilots will offer additional support to those problem drug users already in treatment. In return, and in order to receive benefit payments, they will also test an approach in which claimants with a drug dependency that is a barrier to employment, and who are not already receiving drug treatment, will be required to sign up to a rehabilitation plan that will outline how they will engage with the help that is available to them to overcome their addiction. That is to say that doing nothing will no longer be an option for this group.
	While these provisions will also allow for people on benefits to be required to take drug tests in certain limited and prescribed circumstances, there will be no loss of entitlement as a result of any positive test.

Unemployment: Young People

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps her Department is taking to reduce the level of youth unemployment; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: We have launched a number of targeted initiatives to tackle youth unemployment.
	From next month, the young person's guarantee will ensure all 18 to 24-year-olds on JSA will be guaranteed either the offer of a job, work-focused training or meaningful activity. They will then be required to take up one of these opportunities.
	The Future Jobs Fund will create 150,000 jobs. Around 95,000 jobs have already been approved and some have already started.
	But the Government can not prevent youth unemployment on our own. That is why we launched backing Young Britain and I am delighted to report that as a result over 330 employers are already pledging new opportunities for young people.